Identifying English
Learners with Disabilities
At EDC
English learners are the fastest-growing group of students in U.S. schools, and nearly 15 percent of them are identified as
having disabilities.1 As with all students, federal law requires schools to provide English learners with disabilities with the
most appropriate education to meet their needs and to track and report their progress.2
Yet, many teachers struggle with recognizing when their English learner students have
disabilities. How can they determine whether a particular child’s learning difficulties
stem from limited English-language proficiency or a diagnosable learning disability?
Here are three evidence-based recommendations3 that can help.
Use
multiple مرحبا
¡Hola!
measures
Form Be culturally
collaborative Consider these data sources
and linguistically
when assessing English
teams learners’ eligibility for special
responsive
education services:
Bring together these diverse • S tudent health and attendance
voices and expertise to records Take these steps to create a
identify and address English classroom that values English
• Parent interviews and surveys learners’ strengths and fosters
learners’ needs:
• C
lassroom and home their success:
• Parents and family members observations
• Integrate students’ cultural and
• Students • Student work samples
linguistic backgrounds
• E nglish learner/bilingual • Standardized test results
• B
uild and nurture positive
education teachers and experts • Local assessments relationships with students,
• Cultural liaisons • Teacher interviews parents, and families
• General education teachers • Student performance data • S elect assessments that produce
• Special education teachers • Oral language samples valid results for English learners
• School administrators • H
istory of interventions • C
onsider students’ skills
provided to student in English and their native
• O
ther school personnel,
languages
such as psychologists,
speech pathologists, and • H
old high expectations in
trained interpreters language acquisition and
content learning
Learn more about identifying and serving
English learners with disabilities
CCSSO English Learners IES Practice Guide: Teaching
with Disabilities Guide Academic Content and Literacy
[Link] to English Learners in Elementary
ccsso-english-learners-disabilities-guide
and Middle School
[Link]
PracticeGuide/19
Processes and Challenges in English Learner Tool Kit for State
Identifying Learning Disabilities and Local Education Agencies
Among Students Who Are English (SEAs and LEAs)
Language Learners in Three New [Link]
York State Districts english-learner-toolkit/[Link]
[Link]
[Link]?projectID=116
RTI for English Language Learners: Promoting the Educational
Appropriately Using Screening Success of Children and
and Progress Monitoring Tools to Youth Learning English:
Improve Instructional Outcomes Promising Futures
[Link] [Link]
[Link] promoting-the-educational-success-of-
children-and-youth-learning-english
1. U
.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. (2018). English language learners in public schools.
Retrieved January 15, 2019 from [Link]
2. Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [As Amended through P.L. 115–224, Enacted July 31, 2018], 20 U.S.C. § 6841 (2018).
ark, S., Martinez, M., & Chou, F. (2017). CCSSO English learners with disabilities guide. Washington DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.
3 P
[Link] Sánchez, M. T., Parker, C., Akbayin, B., & McTigue, A. (2010). Processes and challenges
in identifying learning disabilities among students who are English language learners in three New York State districts (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2010–085).
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance,
Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands. [Link]
This infographic was prepared under Contract ED-IES-17-C-0008 by Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands,
administered by Education Development Center. The content does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of IES
or the U.S. Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply
endorsement by the U.S. Government.
[Link]/ncee/edlabs/regions/northeast @REL_NEI
