Students who are identified as both English learners (ELs) and students with disabilities (SWDs) are referred to as dually identified students. Local education agencies (LEAs) must provide dually identified students with both the language assistance and disability-related services to which they are entitled under federal law. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children. LEAs must also meet their obligations, under Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA), to ensure that ELs can participate meaningfully and equally in educational programs.

Resources by Topic

Accommodations

• OSSE Testing Accommodations Guide Part I: Students with Disabilities, 2021-22 School Year
• OSSE Testing Accommodations Guide Part II: English Learners, 2021-22 School Year
• Training Webinar: Testing Accommodations for English Learners

Assessment

• Advancing ALTELLA
• Alternate ACCESS for ELLs
• Alternate ACCESS Interpretive Guide, Score Reports
• Alternate ACCESS for ELLs Scores and Reports

Community Based Organizations

• Advocates for Justice and Education

Legal Obligations

• Dear Colleague Letter, § II (F) (US Departments of Education and Justice)
• English Learner Toolkit, Chapter 6: Tools and Resources for Addressing English Learners with Disabilities (US Department of Education)
• IDEA Part B Provision of FAPE: Guidance for the 2021-22 School Year
• School Readiness Reflection Tool
• Training Webinar: An Overview of the School Readiness Reflection Tool

Difference vs. Disability

• Special Education or Second Language Acquisition: Considerations for Differentiating the Two
• Training Webinar: English Learners with Disabilities: Findings from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
• Training Webinar: Instruction for ELs with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
• Training Webinar: Separating Difference from Disability in English Learners

Instruction

• Alternate writing rubric (WIDA)
• Alternate speaking rubric (WIDA)
• Alternate Proficiency Level Descriptors (WIDA)
• Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Response to Intervention Within Multitiered System of Supports (MTSS for ELs)
• English Learners with Special Needs (National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition)
• Meeting the Needs of English Learners With and Without Disabilities, Briefs 1-5 (MTSS for ELs)
• Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures, Chapter 10 (The National Academies Press)
• Serving Students with Disabilities during Periods of Remote or Blended Learning
• Stories from the Classroom: Special Considerations for English Learners with IEPs
• Training Webinar: Instruction for ELs with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

Parent and Family Engagement

• Schools' Civil Rights Obligations to English Learner Students and Limited English Proficient Parents, in multiple languages (US Department of Education)
• Special Education Resource Hub (in multiple languages)
• Tools and Resources for Ensuring Meaningful Communication with Limited English Proficient Parents

Secondary Transition

• Transition Planning for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Youth
• Training Webinar: Secondary Transition for English Learners

Contact

For more information or questions, please contact Anika Harris, manager, Language Acquisition Programs at [email protected].