Evaluating ELLs for Special Needs a Challenge

[proud2BlibKansan]

A kindergarten teacher in a San Diego public school last fall referred six of her students—all English-language learners—for evaluation for special education. All of them, as it turned out, needed eyeglasses; one needed a hearing aid. None needed to be placed in special education.

A few years ago, such simple explanations for the students' academic difficulties might not have been picked up so early. But last year, the 132,000-student San Diego district—with a history of lopsided referrals of English-learners to special education—created a step-by-step process to make sure every explanation and intervention for a child's lagging academic performance had been examined before assigning a placement in special education.

"Special education had become the default intervention," said Sonia Picos, a program manager in the district's special education department. "Special education was seen as the place with the answers, without taking into consideration what the long-term implications were going to be for the students."

Accurately identifying ELL students who also need special education services has long been a problem for educators. Historically, English-learners were overrepresented in special education, but litigation and civil rights complaints have, in more recent years, led to an equally troubling problem with identifying too few ELLs with legitimate special education needs, or not providing services to them in a timely manner.

more . . .http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/08/29/02ell_ep.h32.html?tkn=LOOFadYObXl8Q1RIzoCvAyPBsUcu1Jeq9egW&intc=es

[LWolf]

1. It seems like

checking vision, hearing, and other factors before referring for sped qualification has been business as usual in SSTs for decades, at least in the districts I've worked in.

It IS hard to identify learning disabilities for ELL students, though; I've never worked anywhere that assessments were given in the first language, or by people who were fluent in that first language. It hasn't been uncommon for me to have ELL students with IEPs, and I've sometimes thought the real issue was their English, not a learning disability.

In my current state, students are pulled out for ELL every day. I appreciate that they are getting help learning the language. Even if I'm not sure those with IEPs really have learning disabilities, I am also grateful for the extra help they get from our sped staff. They need all the extra help they can get, learning disability or not.