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English Language Learners in Special Education

Emily Flower

February 28, 2016

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It is evident that there is a dilemma in regards to the overrepresentation of English

Language Learners (ELLs) within special education classrooms. Although some ELLs

are in need of being placed into a special education classroom, not all are. It is a common

misconception that if an ELL is placed in special education, they are at least getting some

help with their education. However, this is not the case because special education can

actually inhibit an ELL from acquiring a second language. This phenomenon of

misidentifying ELLs as needing special education services is primarily caused by the

assessment process, methods for categorization, and inappropriate funding within the

school system.

One factor that often leads to the misplacement of English Language Learners in

special education is the formal assessment processes used by the education system to

identify the ability of ELLs. It is common for schools to primarily use standardized test

scores to assess a student’s ability. In regards to ELLs, these scores give a “narrow and

potentially quite inaccurate view of what a student is able to do… [because they] do not

account for the fact that the students being tested are bilingual” (Hamayan, E., Marler, B.,

Sanchez-Lopez, C., & Damico, J., 2007). Although some individuals may agree with the

use of standardized tests in schools, the scores do not accurately represent what ELLs are

capable of doing, which can lead to ELLs being incorrectly placed into special education.

Also, ELLs are sometimes placed into special education because there are similarities in

the way that academic and language difficulties manifest among ELLs and students with

long-term disabilities (Hamayan et al., 2007). These similarities can cause ELLs to

perform similarly to students with special needs on standardized tests, which then cause

them to qualify for special education.

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Furthermore, ELLs are commonly placed into special education because of the

way in which individuals with special needs are categorized nowadays. In today’s

society, it has become common for individuals with special needs to be identified as a

common group instead of on a case-by-case basis. This method, now referred to as the

medical model, “is based on the notion that disabilities or challenges can be identified

much like the list of ailments that are officially recognized as diseases in the medical

field” (Hamayan et al., 2007). As previously identified, ELLs do perform similarly to

individuals with special needs, which means that often times, they meet the requirements

on the medical model’s checklist for needing special education. By using the medical

model, ELLs are over-identified as needing special education because the “complexity of

the phenomenon and the individuality of the ELL are often overlooked” (Hamayan et al.,

2007). This method of categorization does not look at each student as an individual with

many differences when compared to others, which can hurt an ELL because they can

resemble an individual with special needs, making people think that they require special

education.

In addition, ELLs are falsely placed into special education classrooms because

there is government funding for special education services due to the passage of the

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1975. Since ELLs do have some of

the same disabilities as individuals with special needs and seem do require special

education, “the identification of these disabilities is connected with additional funding

that gives the school much-needed resources” (Hamayan et al., 2007). Therefore, by

placing an ELL into special education, the school is saving its own money because the

government will be helping pay for their education. In schools that cannot provide a
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proper education for ELLs due to a lack of resources and funding, it seems logical to

place an ELL into special education because they will at least be getting some

individualized help. However, according to the article titled Some Myths Regarding ELLs

and Special Education, this is a common misconception and can negatively affect an

ELL’s language acquisition, because “interventions that are specifically geared to help

processing, linguistic, or cognitive disabilities often do not help children acquire second

language proficiency” (Hamayan et al., 2007). In other words, special education is

designed to help students that have learning disabilities understand material in a way that

makes sense to them, which is a completely different process than teaching a student a

new language.

Overall, there are many reasons why there are so many ELLs being improperly

placed into special education. The most significant reason is that standardized test scores

do not accurately represent the ability of ELLs. Another common reason for

inappropriate placement is the use of the medical model to categorize individuals as

having special needs. Also, the passage of IDEA created a new category of funding for

special education in the education system, which causes schools to incorrectly place

ELLs into special education so that the government will help pay for their education. As a

future special education teacher, it is interesting to learn about ELLs being placed into

special education because of these reasons. It will be important information to know in

order to properly identify if a student in my classroom has been inaccurately placed so

that I can follow procedures to get them a suitable education for their needs.
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References

Hamayan, E., Marler, B., Sanchez-Lopez, C., and Damico, J. (2007). Reasons for the

Misidentification of Special Needs among ELLs. Special Education

Considerations for English Language Learners: Delivering a Continuum of

Services, 2-7. Retrieved from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/reasons-

misidentification-special-needs-among-ells

Hamayan, E., Marler, B., Sanchez-Lopez, C., and Damico, J. (2007). Some Myths

Regarding ELLs and Special Education. Special Education Considerations for

English Language Learners: Delivering a Continuum of Services, 7-8. Retrieved

from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/some-myths-regarding-ells-and-

special-education