ABOUT STUDENTS WITH ADDITIONAL ACADEMIC NEEDS Guidance for the support of students with ELL and special education (ELL/SPED) eligibility November, 2012

The ODE continues to receive questions about who should be involved in making decisions about ELL students who also have disabilities, and how those decisions should be made. Educators frequently raise questions specifically about statewide assessments (including ELPA) and whether English Language Development services may, or should be suspended for these students.

Not all ELL students with a disability will receive exactly the same kind of ELD instruction as non-disabled ELL students; not unlike the specialized instruction ELL students with disabilities receive in the regular education program. The IEP team, with the required participation of a specialist in the area of second language acquisition, should consider whether the child's ELD instructional program needs to be modified or whether accommodations need to be provided to the child.

Good practice dictates that all of the student’s educational needs be assessed and considered in a coordinated manner, whether or not  they are typically linked to a specific disability.  In addition, the content and procedures of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) require that the student's native language and cultural characteristics be taken into account in program planning.  

Decisions about the location of services should be made with the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) requirements in mind, which means that nearly all students should receive ELD services in the same setting as their peers.  However, for students that are highly impacted by their disability, the team may decide that a comprehensive program, specially designed for that student, would more appropriately be provided in a specialized setting.  In such cases, the student would still be considered "enrolled" in ELD, as long as the child's instruction continues to explicitly address English language acquisition. 

The IEP team is also encouraged to closely coordinate services for students. An important consideration is the continuity of a student’s school day while meeting state and federal regulations under IDEA and services to be provided for students learning an additional language.

Questions may be addressed to Carmen West, EII carmen.west@state.or.us Kim Miller, EII kim.a.miller@state.or.us Martha Buenrostro, SL&P Martha.buenrostro@state.or.us Susan Inman, EII susan.inman@state.or.us