UW–Madison’s Laurene Christensen, the director of accessibility research at WIDA in the School of Education’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research, was featured in an Education Week article examining the legal requirements schools must follow to support multilingual learners with disabilities.
The article explains that according to federal law, multilingual learners with disabilities — who make up 16% of the nation’s English learner population — are entitled to both English-language instruction and special education services.
Christensen notes that while most schools “are doing right” by these students and their families, there remains confusion. She supports a new Department of Education fact sheet published on Nov. 12 that helps clarify the requirements.
“I think that we have a moral obligation to treat all students equitably in this country,” Christensen said, “and so I think that this is a great list of things to consider when you’re thinking about supporting multilingual learners with disabilities.”
Christensen highlights common challenges schools face, such as finding translators who are well-versed in individualized education programs (IEPs). She notes that schools sometimes delay evaluating students for disabilities due to concerns about their language proficiency.
“Of course, we want to make sure that they’re not being mistakenly identified (as having a disability) because of language proficiency,” she said, “but it’s important to make sure that the evaluation is conducted in the student’s home language, if needed.”
Christensen also reaffirms her and WIDA’s commitment to serving educators who work with multilingual learners, including those with disabilities.
“We should just keep on doing this important work because these kids and their educators really deserve it,” she said.
To learn more about this important issue, read the full article in Education Week.