Schools are among the first institutions to welcome newcomer immigrants and refugees to local communities. Meeting the physical, linguistic, social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of these students and their families is essential to their success and can be an opportunity for educators and community members to reflect upon and enhance their practices and processes. This toolkit is a resource for school leaders to support multilingual learners (MLs) and general education educators who directly serve immigrant and refugee students. 

The toolkit consists of five chapters:

1. Chapter 1: Who Are Newcomers? 

2. Chapter 2: Welcoming Newcomers to a Safe, Inclusive, and Thriving School Environment 

3. Chapter 3: Supporting Newcomers’ Social and Emotional and Mental Health Needs

4. Chapter 4: Providing High-Quality Instruction for Newcomers 

5. Chapter 5: Establishing Partnerships With Families

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The individualized education program (IEP) team determines an individual student’s eligibility to participate in an alternate assessment. To guide and support IEP teams in determining whether a student is most appropriately assessed with an alternate assessment, the California Department of Education (CDE) developed this Alternate Assessment Decision-Making Tool after consulting with its Assessment Development and Administration Division and Special Education Division.