While total U.S. public school enrollment has hovered around 50 million since 2000, the percentage of students identified as English learners has grown, from 8.1 percent in 2000 to 10.1 percent in 2017. A subgroup of these students, English learners with disabilities, continues to be one of the most underserved. To monitor and evaluate these students’ progress toward language proficiency and mastery of grade-level content, all staff—not just specialists in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)—should have a working knowledge of these culturally and linguistically diverse students’ needs.


Supporting English Learners with Disabilities





Also In this Issue

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Ensuring Students with Disabilities Leave School Ready to Succeed

By Kristin K. Liu, Martha L. Thurlow and Sheryl S. Lazarus

State boards can watch policies for red flags that hold students back.





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Debunking Myths about Students with Disabilities

By Karla Phillips-Krivickas

State policy should confront the pervasive low expectations that the outcomes reveal.





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Supporting Students with Disabilities throughout the Year

By Angela Johnson and Elizabeth Barker

The data point up a need for services that extend beyond the school year.





Reenvisioning the Future with Universal Design for Learning

By James D. Basham

Build a system that supports each student rather than a mythical average one.






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Supporting English Learners with Disabilities

By Drew S. Fagan and Luis Javier Pentón Herrera

Equitable education means overcoming challenges in identification, staff training, and funding.





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Understanding Special Education Teacher Shortages

By David Peyton and Kelly Acosta

State policies meaningfully affect recruitment and retention.







Featured Items

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Strengthening the Principal Pipeline through State Leadership Academies

Missouri, Delaware, and North Carolina have developed evidence-based professional learning for current and prospective school leaders to increase their effectiveness and reduce turnover.
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State Advances in Early Childhood Education Seed Plans for 2024

In 2023, several states made significant strides toward universal pre-K, increased funding and support for early educators, and improved literacy and math instruction.
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Curriculum That Counts

Authors in this issue of the Standard draw lessons from a spectrum of state policies that are being used to increase the adoption of high-quality curriculum.

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