54737_NEA_S1_R1:Hispanics 1/15/08 10:26 AM Page 1

December 2007

F us On
Hispanics
Special Education and English Language Learners
Introduction: Current Situation Regarding One Teacher’s Frustration with the Special
Misconceptions Surrounding Language Education Process
Differences vs. Learning Disabilities
A teacher is experiencing difficulty obtaining testing for a
“Children already come to us differentiated. It just makes sense to dif- student who has been in the United States for approxi-
ferentiate our instruction in response to them.” (Tomlinson, 1999). mately one year. He is struggling in every aspect, lacking
The 2002 census report reflects changes in the English basic English skills, lacking verbal communication skills in
Language Learner (ELL) student population. While the social and academic settings, lacking memory retention,
school age population increased by 12 percent, the ELL lacking comprehension, and lacking motivation. The stu-
student population has grown by 54 percent since the 1990 dent is further described as being lethargic and almost
census. Sixty percent of ELLs in the United States are comatose in the classroom.
Spanish speakers. From the very beginning, the teacher has been proactive in
The fact that ELL students have continued to be heavily communicating with the parents and trying to become
overrepresented in special education programs is testa- informed about the student’s background, including the
ment to the need for a clearer understanding of the factors school previously attended, grades, and behavioral or
that educators must consider prior to referring an ELL stu- medical issues. Unfortunately, family members have not
dent for special education services. (Case and Taylor, 2005). been very helpful in providing this essential information.
They obviously care very much for their child, but their
What Does the Research Say? response to the teacher’s questions has been, “He was
“Culture influences the ways in which language proficiency develops never any problem to the teacher.”
and how language is used in communication and interac- During the first semester the teacher contacted the parents
tion.”(Westby, 2005) and consulted with other service providers such as special
Research shows that 80 percent of the referrals to special education teachers, counselors, the school psychologist,
education are generated from teachers’ concerns over and the school nurse. In the second semester, a tutor
reading problems (Snow, Burns, and Griffin.1998). worked with the student. In addition, the teacher worked
Previous research indicated an overrepresentation of with a special education teacher to modify the curriculum
English language learners in special education classes and lesson plans in order to improve the student’s com-
(Yates & Ortiz, 1998). However, current research suggests prehension.
that educators appear to be doing a better job distinguish- But now it is two years since the teacher first expressed
ing a learning disability from language differences. concern about the student, and the student continues to
The Office of English Language Acquisition Study and the struggle in school, and the student still has not been test-
Office of Civil Rights Survey of 2002 put the estimate of all ed for learning disabilities. Needless to say, the teacher is
students referred to special education at 13.5 percent and very frustrated.
the number of ELL students with disabilities at approxi- Translating Research into Tools and Best
mately 9.2 percent. The smaller proportions of ELLs may Practices
be explained thusly: (1) ELLs may be under-identified
“As we gain a greater understanding of the human brain, we may
nationally as needing special education services; (2) ELLs
discover that some students designated as ‘learning disabled’ may be
in special education programs may not be identified as
merely ‘schooling disabled.” (Sousa, 2001).
both ELLs and English Language Learners with Disabilities
(ELL/Ds) in district records, but only as ELLs; and (3) Research based instructional best practices should be
There actually may be a lower disability rate among those implemented in classrooms to support every students’
identified as ELLs. learning styles, strengths, and individual needs.
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F us On December 2007

HISPANICS
Tharp, Estrada, Dalton and Yamauchi, 2000, propose the the United States, speaks and hears only Spanish at home,
Five Standards for Effective Pedagogy which delineate and is very quiet in the classroom. As the ELL Specialist, I
instructional activities that promote active student learn- explain the intervention process to the teacher, review the
ing. These Standards are deemed critical for improving forms and steps, and assist in completing the initial pages,
learning outcomes for all students, especially those of such as the bilingual-history form. We meet with the litera-
diverse ethnic, linguistic, or economic backgrounds. The cy specialist, discuss the deficits, and isolate one language
Standards are: skill where we will intervene. Team collaboration is essen-
tial when going through the intervention process. Many
1.) Teacher and Student Producing Together—joint
times the team checks in with the teacher regarding the
productive activity among teacher and student
interventions and may support the teacher by assisting
2.) Developing Language and Literacy Across the with the interventions (tutoring) or administering the
Curriculum assessments for progress monitoring. Weeks later, the
paperwork is complete and the team meets to go over the
3.) Making Meaning; Connecting School to Students’
student’s progress. In this collaboration, the teacher is no
Lives—put teaching and curriculum in context of
longer the keeper of all of the information. The team comes
students’ home and community experiences
together as a group of ‘Armando Experts.’”
4.) Teaching Complex Thinking—challenge students
“In our schools, if a student qualifies for special services,
5.) Teaching Through Conversation—engage students the collaboration will continue. The language specialist
through dialogue. continues to work with the resource teacher to ensure that
Research shows that use of the Standards by teachers was language-acquisition strategies remain in place and the
a reliable predictor of achievement gains in comprehen- Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is written with the
sion, language, reading, spelling, and vocabulary language-learner’s best interest in mind.”
(Doherty, Hilberg, Pinal and Tharp, 2002). When Does an ELL Student Need Special
Education Services?
Research also indicates that a child new to the English lan-
guage may develop Basic Communication Skills (BICS) When English language learners are not succeeding aca-
after one to two years, but it may take five to seven years to demically and a disability is suspected, it is critical that
acquire Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). strategies are implemented, closely monitored, document-
ed, and interpreted. How do you know when an English
Factors critical to the success of English language learners
Language Learner may need special education services?
(Ortiz & Wilkinson, 1997) include:
• The student’s rate of progress is below the expected
• Early intervention
rate for LEP students.
• Differentiated instruction
• Prior to learning a new language, the student had a
• Curriculum-based assessments to monitor student
history of developmental or educational problems.
progress and data from assessments to plan and
• The student’s adaptive skills are significantly
modify instruction
delayed.
• Collaboration among special education and Limited
• The student has difficulty responding to verbal cues.
English Proficiency (LEP) service providers, family,
• The student is not demonstrating mastery of materi-
community members, and other stakeholders
als at his/her language and developmental level,
• Response to Intervention.
even after differentiating instruction.
Making the Intervention Process Work for
an ELL Student Research shows that there is an overlap in the types of
errors made by ELL students and students with learning
From an ELL specialist: disabilities (Kuder, 2003). However, normal syntactic errors
“It’s November and a post-it is placed in my box in the staff for ELL students, in English, differ from the errors made by
lounge. A second grade teacher reports that Armando has ELL/Language Disabled students in their native language.
made no gains and is falling behind significantly among
his peers. Armando, like many of our students, was born in
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Difference vs. Disability

English Language Learners Language Disabilities in Native

Common Errors in English Language
Words not structured correctly Confused sequencing when relating an event

Words not verbalized correctly Lack of interrelatedness of symbols or objects

Words with incorrect meaning Poor organization or sentence structuring

Errors in use of plurals Delayed responses or reactions

Incorrect word order-misplaced verbs or articles Poor topic maintenance

Poor subject-verb agreement Difficulty maintaining attention

Incorrect verb tense Limited use of age appropriate vocabulary

Errors in use of “the, those, these, a” with nouns Poor memory

Incorrect use or omission of prepositions Confused placement of words or phrases

Omitting enunciation of “s” to indicate possession

Adapted from Catherine Collier, Difference vs. Disability, 1998

Resources: Snow, C.E., Burns, M.S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing read-
ing difficulties in young children. DC: National Academy Press.
Case, R., & Taylor, S. (2005). Language difference or learning dis-
ability? Answers from a linguistic perspective. The Clearing Tharp, R. G., Estrada, P., Dalton, S. S., & Yamauchi, L.
House, 78(3), 127-30. (2000). Teaching transformed Achieving excellence, fairness, inclu-
sion, and harmony. Boulder: Westview Press.
Collier, C. (1998). Separating difference from disability. File
Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – View as HTML. Tomlinson, C.A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding
to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA. Association for
Doherty, R.W., Hilberg, R.S., Pinal, Al, & Tharp, R.G. (2002). Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Transformed pedagogy organization, and student achievement. Paper
presented at the annual conference of the American Yates, J. R., & Ortiz, A. (1998) Issues of culture and Diversity
Education Research Association, New Orleans, LA. affecting educators with disabilities: A Change in demography is
reshaping America. In R.J. Anderson, C. E. Keller, & J. M. Karp
Kuder, S.J. (2003). Teaching students with language and communi- (Eds.), Enhancing diversity: Educator with disabilities in the edu-
cation disabilities (2nd Ed.). Boston. cation enterprise. Washington: Gallaudet University Press.
Ortiz & Wilkinson (1997). English Language Learners with Westby, C. (2005). Language, Culture, and Literacy. The ASHA
Special Needs: Effective Instructional Strategies /with these students Leader, pp. 16, 30.
and foster academic success and empower students. RTOS
Education – Idonline.org. NEA Resource:
Sousa, D. (2001). How the Special Needs Brain Learns. Truth in Labeling: Disproportionality in Special Education. NEA
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press Incorporated. Professional Library, 2007, www.nea.org/books.

NEA Human and Civil Rights • 1201 16th Street, NW • Washington, DC 20036 • (202) 822-7700
 Reprinted with the permission of the Alliance for Excellent Education

April 2007

Latino Students and U.S. High Schools

The United States Census Bureau projects that by the year 2050, about 50 percent of the U.S. population will
be African-American, Hispanic, or Asian (U.S. Census Bureau 2004). These relatively youthful minority
populations—Hispanics in particular—will drive future demographic growth and diversification well into the
twenty-first century.

Nearly five million Latino students were enrolled in America’s public schools in 1993–94. By the 2007–08
school year, that number will grow to about nine million (Western Interstate Commission for Higher
Education 2003). Over the past two decades, the percentage of Latino students in U.S. elementary and
secondary schools has grown significantly, while the percentage of white students has declined and that of
African-American students has held steady (NCES 2006).

This demographic reality makes it imperative to educate these students to high standards if the United States is
to maintain its global preeminence. However, current statistics make it clear that there is a wide achievement
and attainment gap that must be bridged before that goal is met.

Graduation, Dropouts, and Preparedness

The nation’s high schools are failing many Latino youth. Latino high school students are notably falling
behind their white counterparts in graduation rates, dropout rates, literacy rates, and college preparedness
rates.
x In 2003, only 53 percent of all Hispanic students graduated from high school on time, compared to 78
percent of whites (Greene and Winters 2006).
x In 2003, the on-time graduation rate for Hispanic males was 49 percent nationally; for white males, it was
74 percent (Greene and Winters 2006).
x In 2000, 44 percent of Hispanic young adults born outside the United States dropped out of high school
(ASPIRA 2004).
x Only 20 percent of Hispanic students leave high school prepared for college, compared to 40 percent of
whites (Greene and Winters 2005).
x Of students entering college, only 7 percent were Hispanic, while 76 percent were white (Greene and
Winters 2005).
x By the end of high school, Latino students have math and reading skills that are comparable to white
middle school students (The Education Trust 2003).
x The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that 86 percent of Hispanic eighth
graders read below grade level, compared to 63 percent of white eighth graders (U.S. Department of
Education, NAEP 2005).
x Seventy-one percent of eighth grade students who are English-language learners (ELL) test considerably
below grade level in reading, compared with 25 percent of non-ELL students (U.S. Department of
Education, NAEP 2005).
x Dropout rates for immigrant students vary widely by subgroup with educational differences influenced by
country of origin, age at time of immigration to the United States, and whether ELL students are from first,
second, or third generation immigrant families (Ruiz-de-Velasco, Fix, and Clewell 2000).
Schools, Segregation, and Teacher Quality
A disproportionate number of failing schools, across grade levels, are predominantly comprised of poor, racial,
and ethnic minority students. These segregated schools tend to have fewer financial, human, and material
resources than schools in more affluent areas. By the time students who attend these schools reach high
school, the academic challenges they face have been compounded by years of substandard education.
x Seventy-five percent of Latino students attend segregated schools in which minorities comprise 50 percent
or more of the student population (Orfield and Yun 1999).
x Thirty-five percent of Latino students attend intensely segregated schools where minority students
comprise at least 90 percent of the student population (Orfield and Yun 1999).
x One-ninth of Latino students attend schools where 99 to 100 percent of the student body is composed of
minority students (Frankenberg, Lee, and Orfield 2003).
x Nine percent of white children are enrolled in minority-predominant school districts, in comparison with
two-thirds of Latino children (Pew Hispanic Center 2002a).
x Latino youth are concentrated in central cities and thus are more likely to attend schools that are
overcrowded and underfunded. In California, for example, about 16 percent of the teachers in schools
attended by Hispanic students are not fully credentialed, which is twice the percentage for schools attended
by white students (Pew Hispanic Center 2002b).
x In the last six years, there has been a 38 percent increase in the Latino student population, compared to a
13 percent increase in black public school enrollment and a decline of 1.2 percent in white public school
enrollment during the same time period (Frankenberg, Lee, and Orfield 2003).
x Latinos and African Americans comprise 80 percent of the student population in extreme-poverty schools
where 90 to 100 percent of the population is considered poor (Orfield and Lee 2005).
x Nationally, almost half of the ELL students attend schools where 30 percent or more of their fellow
students are also ELL students (Ruiz-de-Velasco, Fix, and Clewell 2000).
x Nationwide, 31 percent of ELL high school students had teachers who did not have a major, minor or
certification in the field of bilingual education (Seastrom et al. 2002).

Special, Gifted, and College Preparatory Education

Statistics show that Latino students experience disparities in other important areas of education.
x Latino students identified as in need of special education are about twice as likely as white students to be
removed from a general education setting and placed in a restrictive educational environment (Harvard
Civil Rights Project 2002).
x Overall, 36 percent of Latino students classified as having learning disabilities spend the majority of their
day in separate settings, such as restricted classrooms or schools, compared with only 20 percent of white
students classified as having learning disabilities (Education Law Center 2004).
x At 34 percent, Hispanic twelfth graders had the highest percentage of long-term absenteeism (three days or
more) of any other racial or ethnic group (Hoffman, Llagas, and Snyder 2003).
x Between 1984 and 2000, the number of Hispanics who took Advanced Placement (AP) exams increased
dramatically, from 22 to 117 students per 1,000 twelfth graders, while the number of white students taking
the exams increased from 49 to 183 per 1,000 twelfth graders during this same time period (NCES 2003;
Hoffman, Llagas, and Snyder 2003).
x From 1991 to 2001, the percent of Latino students who took the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)
increased only slightly, from 7 percent to 9 percent (Hoffman, Llagas, and Snyder 2003).
x The proportion of U.S. college students who were Hispanic increased from 4 percent in 1980 to 10 percent
in 2000 while the percentage of white college students declined from 81 percent in 1980 to 61 percent in
2000 (Hoffman, Llagas, and Snyder 2003).

2
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