All Over the Map: State-Level Guidance for English Learners With Disabilities

Abstract

Dually identified (DI) students, or classified English Learners (ELs) with documented disabilities, are legally entitled to services that address both their disability- and language-related learning needs. We contend that unless state education agencies (SEAs) furnish local education agencies (LEAs) with high-quality guidance pertaining to this population of students, many schools and districts will remain unable to fulfill their legal mandate. Our analysis catalogs and classifies all content related to DI students on the SEA websites across all populated U.S. jurisdictions (i.e., 50 states, territories, & Washington DC), revealing that while most individual SEAs provide only minimal resources, the collective body of knowledge is robust. Drawing on aggregated information, we outline practical suggestions for SEAs to curate hearty, accessible, and up-to-date compendia of resources to support their LEAs and the DI students they serve.