Support-Services Program
Whether the ELL population is over or under-represented in special education, every attempt
must be made to accurately identify ELLs in need of support services. The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) cautions that, “students are not eligible for services if their
learning problems are primarily the result of environmental, cultural or economic disadvantage”
(Artiles & Ortiz, 2002, p. 13). Understanding the risk of disproportionate representation of
English language learners in special education is the first step in an appropriate identification and
services for ELLs.
Pre-referral Process
We cannot allow the team to automatically throw the referral back to the ESL Department saying
the problem is SLA or cultural; nor should we rush into the evaluation/classification process.
Below are some ideas that educators can use to prevent either action.
1. Screening and intervention processes should involve identifying problems that an ELL is
having, as well as ways to help deal with these problems. The purpose is to avoid
unnecessary referrals.
a. Identify the problems and source of the problems experienced by the student.
i.
Is the student experiencing difficulty as a result of untreated health issues?
ii. Is the student receiving appropriate ESL services?
iii. Has the curriculum proven effective for ELLs?
iv.
Have the identified concerns been documented by mainstream, content
and ELL teachers and parents?
v.
Does the difficult persist?
b. Present the problem to the Committee: mainstream teachers, reading specialists,
school psychologists, speech and language professionals, administrators, and
parents must be included (with a translator).
c. Invite the parents to the meeting
i.
At what age did the child start to speak in L1?
ii. Did the child go to school in the native country?
iii. Which language works best when explaining things to your child?
iv.
At what level was the child functioning in school in L1? in L2?
v.
In which language does your child express wants, needs, and feelings
best?
vi.
How well does your child understand L1 speakers?
vii.
Which language does the child use when speaking to other children?
viii. What is the child’s length of time in the U.S.?
ix. What’s his/her emotional well-being?
x. What stage of acculturation?
d. Develop a plan of action at the meeting to be implemented by all parties.
e. Have a follow-up meeting to discuss the effectiveness of the proposed
interventions and how they worked or didn't.
Copyright © 2013, Holly S. Hudspath-Niemi and Mary Lou Conroy. From Implementing Response-to-Intervention to
Address the Needs of English-Language Learners: Instructional Strategies and Assessment Tools for School
Psychologists, by Holly S. Hudspath-Niemi and Mary Lou Conroy (2013). New York: Routledge.
Referral Process
If the above strategies do not work, then it is time to go further. All avenues must be explored
before inclusion in Special Education. It is important to look beyond the traditional testing model
and to collect data in a portfolio. Include input from the ESL teacher, the classroom teacher, and
the family should all become the basis for the assessment process. The assessments selected must
be as valid as possible. Students should be assessed both in the native language and in English.
However, considering the volume of languages represented in U.S. schools, it is unlikely
standardized assessments are readily available in all students’ native languages. Teacher and
professional observations, samples of work, documentation of classroom activities, or non-verbal
tests will create a holistic picture of the ELL’s needs.
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All four skill areas need to be assessed: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Consider auditory processing, auditory memory, visual deficits, and learning style.
Determine whether the difficulty exists in both languages or just in one language.
Is the learning environment affecting the child?
Is there a discrepancy between performance and IQ?
Are there social-emotional problems?
Has the problem resisted adapted classroom instruction?
Does the child show a clear pattern of strengths and weaknesses?
Does the child have good oral skills but poor written skills?
Is there an irregular pattern of success? Does the child seem to get it one day and not the
next?
If the problem exists in both L1 and L2, it is likely that the child has a learning disability.
Before the final decision is made by the committee, be sure that as much of the following
information has been included in the portfolio and used in helping to make that decision.
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Educational history
Family history
Oral samples (in L1 and L2)
Writing samples (in L1 and L2)
Standardized language assessment (in L1 and L2)
Academic Assessment
Psychological assessment (in L1 and L2)
Teacher narrative on social, emotional and behavioral issues
Determination of the student’s strengths and weaknesses
Copyright © 2013, Holly S. Hudspath-Niemi and Mary Lou Conroy. From Implementing Response-to-Intervention to
Address the Needs of English-Language Learners: Instructional Strategies and Assessment Tools for School
Psychologists, by Holly S. Hudspath-Niemi and Mary Lou Conroy (2013). New York: Routledge.
References
Artiles, A.J., & Ortiz, A.A. (Eds.). (2002). English language learners with special
education needs. McHenry: Center for Applied Linguistics & Delta Systems, Co.
Ascher, C. (1990). Assessing bilingual students for placement and instruction.
(ERIC/CUE Digest No. 65). National Committee on Testing and Public Policy. New
York: ERIC Document Reproduction Service No http://ericae.net/edo/ED32273.htm
Gass, S.M., & Selinker, L. (2001). Second language acquisition: An introductory course.
(2nd ed.). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Olson, P. (1991). Referring language minority students to special education. (ED329131).
Washington, D.C.: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. Retrieved
October 22, 2007, from http://www.cal.org/resources/archive/digest/1991langminor.html
Copyright © 2013, Holly S. Hudspath-Niemi and Mary Lou Conroy. From Implementing Response-to-Intervention to
Address the Needs of English-Language Learners: Instructional Strategies and Assessment Tools for School
Psychologists, by Holly S. Hudspath-Niemi and Mary Lou Conroy (2013). New York: Routledge.