Embedded Files
According to IDEA, “[EL/ML] students can be referred for special education at any point that it is determined that their learning and behavior problems are not due to cultural or linguistic differences and are beyond the capacity of general education personnel alone” (Collier, 2011, p. 64).
When evaluating a student for a disability, a school district must use evaluation materials “in the form most likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally” (IDEA, 2006 §300.304).
“The current statute, IDEA 2004, continues to emphasize the need for appropriate evaluation procedures for CLD students. The regulations emphasize the allowance of variance from standard testing procedures when necessary to appropriately evaluate a student. Use of non-standardized testing procedures, such as portfolio assessments or spontaneous language samples, can provide valuable qualitative information on the child’s communication skills. When evaluating English language learner (EL/MLL) students, it is important for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to carefully review the child’s language history to determine the language of assessment. If it is determined that the child should be evaluated in a language other than English, the SLP must use all available resources, including interpreters when necessary, to appropriately evaluate the child” (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), no date).
Services
All English learners/multilingual learners are entitled to English language development services and supports, irrespective of their disability.
“School districts must provide EL students with disabilities with both the language assistance and disability-related services to which they are entitled under Federal law. Districts must also inform a parent of an EL/ML student with an individualized education program (IEP) how the language instruction education program meets the objectives of the child’s IEP.
“The Departments are aware that some school districts have a formal or informal policy of ‘no dual services,’ i.e., a policy of allowing students to receive either EL services or special education services, but not both. Other districts have a policy of delaying disability evaluations of EL students for special education and related services for a specified period of time based on their EL status. These policies are impermissible under the IDEA and Federal civil rights laws, and the Departments expect SEAs to address these policies in monitoring districts’ compliance with Federal law. Further, even if a parent of an EL student with a disability declines disability-related services under the IDEA or Section 504, that student with a disability remains entitled to all EL rights and services as described in this guidance.
“Once a school district determines that an EL student is a child with a disability under the IDEA and needs special education and related services, the school district is responsible for determining, through the development of an IEP at a meeting of the IEP Team (which includes the child’s parents and school officials), the special education and related services necessary to make FAPE available to the child. As part of this process, the IDEA requires that the IEP team consider, among other special factors, the language needs of a child with limited English proficiency as those needs relate to the child’s IEP. To implement English Learners/Multilingual Learners in Connecticut’s Public Schools: Guidelines for Administrators 21 this requirement, it is essential that the IEP team include participants who have the requisite knowledge of the child’s language needs. To ensure that EL children with disabilities receive services that meet their language and special education needs, it is important for members of the IEP team to include professionals with training, and preferably expertise, in second language acquisition and an understanding of how to differentiate between the student’s limited English proficiency and the student’s disability. Additionally, the IDEA requires that the school district ‘take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the parent understands the proceedings of the IEP team meeting, including arranging for an interpreter for parents with deafness or whose native language is other than English.’” (pp. 19–22)
Resources
ASHA IDEA Part B: Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students
ASHA IDEA Part C: Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students
Office of Civil Rights and Department of Justice Dear Colleague Letter
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