It is important for educators to accurately determine whether ELs are eligible for disability-related services. You can find tips, tools, and resources HERE.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) address the rights of students with disabilities in school and other educational settings. If an EL is suspected of having one or more disabilities, the LEA must evaluate the EL promptly to determine if the EL has a disability or disabilities and whether the EL needs disability-related services (which are special education and related services under IDEA or regular or special education and related aids and services under Section 504). Disability evaluations may not be delayed because of a student’s limited English language proficiency (ELP) or the student’s participation in a language instruction educational program (LIEP). Also, a student’s ELP cannot be the basis for determining that a student has a disability.
The California Practitioners’ Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities is a guide to identifying, assessing, supporting, and reclassifying English learners with disabilities as required by Assembly Bill 2785.
Meeting the Needs of English Learners (ELs) with Disabilities Resource Book is a guide that provides regular and special educators information and resources regarding best practices and regulatory requirements for identifying, providing services, and reclassifying English Learners with disabilities
IEPs and English Learners_11-14-23.pdfStep-by-Step Guide to completing the 4 "Must-Do" sections of the IEP for an English learner.
English-language learners are severely underrepresented in gifted and talented education programs in the nation's K-12 schools—and the problem may be rooted in the procedures and policies that schools use to identify gifted students.
Nationwide, the students who don't yet communicate fluently in English account for about 10 percent of the nation's K-12 students, but only 3 percent of those enrolled in gifted programs, a 2017 Education Week report found.
