The Special Education Referral and Decision-Making Process for English Language Learners: Child Study Team Meetings and Placement Conferences

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the special education referral and decisionmaking process for English language learners (ELLs), with a focus on Child Study Team (CST) meetings and placement conferences/multidisciplinary team meetings. We wished to learn how school personnel determined if ELLs who were struggling had disabilities, to what extent those involved in the process understood second language acquisition, and whether language issues were considered when determining special education eligibility. We observed CST meetings and placement conferences for 19 students who were considered ELLs when they were referred. Findings revealed that in practice, only cursory attention was given to prereferral strategies. Most students were pushed toward testing, based on an assumption that poor academic performance or behavioral difficulties had their origin within the child and indicated a need for special education. Although some school personnel were quite knowledgeable about language issues, many were not. There was tremendous variation in the quality of what transpired during meetings. These differences were influenced by the intentions, knowledge, skills, and commitment of CST or multidisciplinary team members. All the factors we describe point to aspects of the process that should be improved.

Jurisdiction in school social workers’ and teachers’ work for pupils’ well-being

“…It is generally concluded among researchers (Guvå, 2009;Hjörne & Säljö, 2013;Klingner & Harry, 2006) that differences in professional perspectives on pupil-related problems and how to solve them might cause tensions in the collaboration between teachers and other professionals with a more peripheral position in relation to the core activity of the school. This is in line with the results in this study.…”

Positioning of Korean Immigrant Mothers of Children with Disabilities

“…Specifically, Korean immigrant mothers feel stressed and hopeless when teachers or professionals disregard their concerns and do not seem to care about their suggestions for improving their children's educational success (Cho & Gannotti, 2005;Cho, Singer, & Brenner, 2000). They also have trouble understanding terminology, jargon, abbreviations, and overly technical language that special education teachers use at legally required annual meetings (i.e., Individualized Education Program [IEP] meetings) (Fitzgerald & Watkins, 2006;Lo, 2008;Klingner & Harry, 2006). Moreover, Koreans' traditionally negative concepts about disabilities often impede parents' active participation in school and community activities and in their children's development (Cho et al, 2000).…”

English Language Learners With Reading Disabilities: A Review of the Literature and the Foundation for a Research Agenda

“…Critics question whether the tests used to measure CALP possess sufficient ecological and predictive validity; that is, whether scores from the tests are valid as predictors of how well a student will do in an academic context (Barrera, 1995;Jitendra & Rohena-Diaz, 1996;Klingner & Harry, 2006). Critics also argue that the notion of CALP promotes a deficit theory insofar as it attributes the academic failure of bilingual/minority students to low cognitive/academic language proficiency rather than to inappropriate schooling (Edelsky, 1990;Edelsky et al, 1983).…”

“…OELA and OCR have collected data on referral practices across various school contexts. In addition, researchers have conducted field interviews with practitioners on the realities of what is successful with ELL/LD students (see Klingner & Harry, 2006).…”

“…Generally, an IEP (individual education plan) committee becomes involved and reviews a case before it's brought to a pre-referral meeting. Also, a bilingual assessor usually evaluates the student to determine if he or she should be assessed bilingually or only in English (Klingner & Harry, 2006). Klingner and Harry (2006) looked at issues related to referral in schools in large school districts in the United States.…”