Special Education Services for ELLs
Special Education services for ells
Process for Identifying a Current ELL/MLL as an SWD
After a referral is made the school-based staff, and the ESL team will determine if a bilingual assessment is necessary. A bilingual school psychologist with background knowledge on language differences and disorders will initially conduct an evaluation. For the identification process, the Committee on Special Education (CSE) will include an ENL certified member and will follow the “CSE Checklist: Considering Limited English Proficiency before Classification of an English Language Learner.” The CSE will also take into consideration whether or not a student is classified as SIFE, and if this interrupted instruction has an impact on evaluation results.
Individualized Education Program (IEP) Development
The CSE team must consider a student’s language needs as they relate to the student’s IEP. Such considerations include the student’s need for special education services and programs in English Language Arts, content area instruction in English and ENL instruction.
Special Education Programming
The CSE will first consider if all services and supports can best be provided in a general education, ESL or bilingual setting. If the student’s needs cannot be met in the general classroom, the CSE will consider if the language services can be provided in a special education setting. When structuring a schedule for an ELL student in a special education setting, it is important to know that a student can have access to both language support services and special education programming and services. Students who are placed in and out- of district are still entitled to both ENL services and special Ed. services.
Re-evaluations
The committee holds annual reviews to determine whether or not a student continues to meet the SWD classification using the CSE Checklist: “Considering Limited English Proficiency before Classification of an English Language Learner.”
Declassification of an ELL-SWD
Pursuant to New York State Regulations, the only means by which a student can be declassified from ELL/MLL status is by scoring obtaining acceptable scores on the NYSESLAT, the NYS ELA assessment or the Regents Exam in English.
The CSE does not have the authority to end ENL and/or bilingual services until a student has demonstrated English proficiency as set forth above, even if the CSE believes that the student’s disability is the only determining factor for the student’s assessment score. Unfortunately, the state does not currently have an alternative assessment for the NYSESLAT, even if the student takes alternative assessments for other state standardized tests.
For information on testing accommodations, please refer to: