With the increasing population of non-English speaking immigrants to the United States, educators are challenged to distinguish students with an identifiable disability from children who have not had access to education and were not literate in their native language. Frequently, access to interpreters for each spoken language is limited and confounds the ability of teachers to identify the educational needs of students and make referrals for special education.
English learners (ELs) are a growing part of the K–12 student population. Between the 2009–10 and 2014–15 school years, the percentage of EL students increased in more than half of the states, with increases of an amazing amount of over 40 percent in five states. There are more than 4.8 million Els in the country with most of them participating in language instruction. The majority of Els are Hispanic or Latino, while only one-quarter of all students were Hispanic or Latino. Asians account for only 5 percent of students but represent 11 percent of Els.
Overall, the impact on subgroup populations varies. While 10 percent of all students were Els, a similar percentage of students with disabilities were ELs (9.9 percent). In comparison, ELs represented 14 percent of all homeless children enrolled in public school, 15 percent of students served by either Public Title I Schoolwide Programs or Targeted Assistance School Programs, and 39 percent of eligible migrant children who resided in the state.
ELs with disabilities were more likely to be classified as having a specific learning disability, or speech or language impairment. Nearly 50% of these students were identified as having a learning disability. In addition, 21% of ELs were identified as having a speech or language impairment.
Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states must annually assess the English language proficiency of ELs, provide reasonable accommodations for them on state assessments, and develop new accountability systems that include long-term goals and measures of progress for ELs. While Spanish was the most common language spoken by ELs at home in 2014–15, in some states there was more variation in the home language. The need to support less commonly spoken languages could also be different across school districts.
Illiteracy becomes a disability only if it is the result of an identifiable physical or mental impairment, meaning loss of vision, hearing, or mental retardation. It is important to be able to distinguish if a student’s lack of learning is due to lack of access to education or to an identifiable disability. In addition, the need to make this determination in the child’s native language is an important component of diagnosis.
Sources:
Early Intervention Services and Special Education for Parents and Grandparents 