“We are in compliance and we have been in compliance,” Smith said of how they designate English learners. Between 2018 and 2023, 15 states lowered the score English learners needed to achieve in order to be reclassified. Cherry Creek School District buses lined up. Hanson said many Cherry Creek English learners lost eligibility for career and technical education, college-level Advanced Placement courses and other postsecondary classes. They told her they didn’t know English learners were being kept in the program for too long, she said, and had no knowledge about the funding their inclusion triggered.