Rita Brusca-Vega, Ed.D

Associate Professor, Special Education

Purdue University Northwest

2200 169th Street, Hammond, IN

vegar@pnw.edu

Presented at the Fall Conference of the Illinois Council

for Exceptional Children

English Learners & the IEP

Process

Purpose of the Presentation

Provide teachers with a base for conceptualizing

and developing strong IEPs for ELs

A. Facts: Bilingual/ESL Services & IEPs

B. Roles of Special & General Educators

C. Assessment & Goal Writing

D. Service Delivery Options

E. Ethical Issues

Outcomes of the PresentationBy the end of the session, participants will be able to…

Compare & contrast practices at their schools to

recommended practices

Identify at least two service delivery models that

integrate special education and bilingual/ESL services

Identify at least three questions to ask at an IEP

meeting to clarify language and cultural needs of

students

Why Is Info Necessary?

ELs at risk for poorly developed IEPs.

Lack of understanding about language and

cultural issues.

Prejudices interfere with decision-making.

Parents not well-informed about process.

A. Facts: Bilingual/ESL Services

& IEPs

Basic Info about Bilingual/ESL

Services for Special Educators

What are the legal requirements for education

services for students who are English learners

(ELs)?

Case law & civil rights legislation

How are ELs identified?

Home language survey, screening, language

proficiency testing

Basic Info about Bilingual/ESL

Services for Special Educators

What services do ELs receive?

Bilingual services - native (L1) and second (L2)

instruction/support

ESL services – L2 instruction

What service delivery models are used?

Self-contained bilingual classroom; dual language

classroom; ESL classes; Bilingual and/or ESL

resource services; paraprofessional support…

IEPs for ELLs:

What Do the Feds Say?

Direct Language Indirect Language

• Consider

language needs

of Limited

English

Proficient (LEP)

students

• Include knowledgeable team members

• Decisions based on peer-reviewed research

IEPs for ELLs:

What Does the State Say?

IEPs should reflect language and cultural needs of ELs

ELs with disabilities should be included with bilingual peers

Educators can earn a bilingual/ESL special education approval on their licenses

ELs are identified as eligible for service only with recommendation of an individual with such approval

Illinois Public Act 87-0995

To learn more about bilingual/ESL

services in Illinois, visit

www.isbe.net

IEP Meeting Process

Summary of Performance

Consensus

Goals

Service Delivery

Don’t put the cart before the horse!

How Are Decisions Being Made?

Based on law?

Based on district or school policy or

practice?

Based on best or evidence-based

practice?

B. Roles of Team Members

Team Members

Student

School Leader

Bilingual-ESL

Educator

Receiving Teachers

Parents

School Psych

ELL-SPED Expert

Interpreter

Commonalities in Roles

Bilingual/ESL & Special Educators

Advocacy Literacy

SpecialistsAccessibility

Areas of Expertise

Bilingual/ESL Educator

What are basic tenants of how children learn a

second language?

What bilingual/ESL teaching strategies

can be used?

How do language and culture

influence learning?

Areas of Expertise

Special Educator

What are the disabilities, including types of

processing problems, that affect language

learning?

What is the impact of disability on oral and

written language development and

learning?

What special education interventions can be

used?

C. Assessment & Goal Writing

Present Levels of Performance

Performance

Area L1 L2

Receptive Oral

Language

Expressive Oral

Language

Reading Fluency

Reading

Comprehension

Writing: Spelling

Writing: Composition

Questions To Ask about Language

Performance

Overall capacity for language?

Type of language processing difficulties?

Adequate qualitative & quantitative information?

Details previous & current instruction in L1 & L2?

Other factors: time in each language? home issues? medical issues?

Worksheet for Consensus & Goal

Writing

Performance

Area L1 L2

Reading Recognition

& Comprehension

Math Concepts &

Skills

Social & Behavioral

Motor Skills

Other Subjects/Skill

Areas

Writing SMART GoalsSpecific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, & Timely

Given short stories at the 4th grade level in English

(condition), Dayana will silently read and answer

questions in writing (action) with 85% accuracy

(measure).

Given one-to-three step directions orally in Polish

(condition), John will follow the directions (action)

successfully 4/5 times (measure).

Approach Goal Writing Knowing…

We have a menu of approaches and strategies from bilingual/ESL, special education, and general education to choose from.

We know that we can match approaches and strategies to individual needs and circumstances.

We believe that bilingual/ESL and special educators can work together to build the IEP from an empirical base.

Melding Philosophical Frameworks

Developmental Constructivist View in ESL

Behavioral View in Sped

Documented Interventions

Bilingual/ESL Special Ed

Examples of Approaches/Strategies

with Similarities

ESL Special Education

Sheltered Instruction Adaptations/Modifications for

Accessing Gen Ed Curriculum

Cognitive-Academic

Language Learning

Learning Strategy Instruction

Total Physical Response Multisensory Approach

Natural Approach Ecological

Inventory/Functional

Curriculum

What Approaches/Strategies Make

Sense for ELs with Disabilities?

Examples…

Reality-based Experiential Activities

Explicit Teaching

Scaffolding

Comprehensible Input

Slowed pace of teacher talk

Sheltered vocabulary/materials

Use of technology for repeated auditory/visual input

What Approaches/Strategies Make

Sense for ELs with Disabilities?

Examples…

Peer Assisted Learning (PALS)

Cooperative Learning

Learning Strategy Instruction

Behavior/Performance Contracts

Direct Instruction

D. Service Delivery Options

• How to provide services to facilitate the goals?

• How to provide services in the most inclusive

manner?

Conceptual Framework

Members of School Community

Members of a Cultural and Language Group

Members of a Group with Disability Needs

Primary Service Delivery Options

CONSULTATIVE MODEL

SPED TO BILINGUAL-ESL

BILINGUAL-ESL TO SPED

SPED & BILINGUAL-ESL

TO GEN ED

Primary Service Delivery Options

DIRECT SERVICE

MODEL

CO-TEACHING RESOURCE CLASS

Secondary Service Delivery Options

SUPPORT MODELS

(NON-PROFESSIONAL)

NATIVE LANGUAGE PARA-PROs

VOLUNTEER

TUTORS

PEER ASSISTANCE

E. Team & Ethical Issues

• How do you create informed teams?

• How do you deal with unethical actions?

Informed Teams: Whole Team Model

FEATURES

Core group

stays intact &

travels to

schools

Team grows to

include…

•Student

•Parents

•Teachers/others

Student

School Leader

Bilingual-ESL

Educator

Receiving Teachers

Parents

School Psych

ELL-SPED Expert

Interpreter

Informed Teams: Ambassador Model

FEATURES

Typical school-

based IEP team

is formed

1 or 2 ELL-

SPED trained

staff join team

Student

School Leader

Bilingual-ESL

Educator

Special Educator

Parents

School Psych

ELL-SPED trained

member

Interpreter

What About Students, Parents, &

Interpreters?

Provide students with self-advocacy training.

Provide parents with a pre-IEP meeting

workshop.

Assure that interpreters are trained, preferably

certified, and know educational jargon.

Communicating Concerns

Professionally

“Our state law says we should consider language and

cultural issues in the IEP. I feel pretty good about what

we’ve done with language. How about the cultural

needs?”

“I know that we typically do not provide native language

support in the district, but it seems this student would

truly benefit from it and the law tells us that programs

and services should match the individual needs of the

student. Can we think outside the box?”

Developing the IEP for ELs

Art Science