Dually Identified: How to Support Immigrant Students with Disabilities

Esther Karinge, Chaplain, Anglican Church of North America; Teacher’s Aide, Medford Public Schools; and Trustee, The ILC Board of Trustees

Key Concepts:

• The current culture (in and out of schools) challenges immigrant students’ sense of belonging
• A culture of inclusivity benefits immigrant students and supports the entire school community.
• Media literacy helps students critically analyze immigration-related misinformation and its impact on public perception and behaviors.

Check out these resources:

• Disabled Immigrants Face Compounding Barriers to Education and Employment (Urban Institute)

Diana Santiago, Esq., Legal Director, Massachusetts Advocates for Children

Key Concepts:

• Children in the United States have a right to public education regardless of immigration status and regardless of disability. It is important to inform immigrant families of these rights, as they may be different than the laws in their home countries.
• Parental participation is key in the special education process.
• All written letters, forms and meetings must be in the family’s primary language, and school districts must provide qualified interpreters who are trained in the ethics of interpretation, confidentiality and the specialized terminology that is used in special education settings.
• Federal law requires schools to identify students with disabilities in a timely manner, including multilingual learners. Evaluations must be conducted in the form or language most likely to accurately assess what the child knows and can do academically, developmentally and functionally, and the testing must take into account cultural and linguistic differences.
• Because many formal testing instruments are not normed for diverse populations, schools may need to use alternative or informal assessments to accurately capture a student’s abilities and needs, particularly for multilingual learners.
• Families have the right to request independent educational evaluations, with school district funding available regardless of immigration status, though a shortage of multilingual evaluators remains a significant barrier.

Check out these resources:

• Dear Colleague Letter (U.S. Department of Education)
• Massachusetts Advocates for Children Immigrant and Latinx Families Resources
• MAC free helpline (617) 357-8431 or massadvocates.org/helpline (multilingual voicemail)
• MAC sample letters for education advocacy
• MAC Immigrant Rights in Education fact sheet
• MAC videos about the special education process (English) (Español)
• Professional development program providing training for educators to create a supportive classroom environment

María Cioè-Peña, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and

Diana Santiago, Esq., Legal Director, Massachusetts Advocates for Children

Key Concepts:

• Approach teaching through a community lens: identify existing resources, notice the gaps and strengthen practice by drawing from frameworks like translanguaging, universal design for learning and culturally relevant pedagogy.
• Trust students by allowing flexible use of their home language in learning tasks. This allows students to be engaged with learning even if they can’t engage in the target language. Otherwise, we create spaces where students are being left behind linguistically and academically.
• Prioritize early identification and evaluation for students who may need special education, ensuring timely access to resources while supporting families in transitions out of services when appropriate.
• Recognize the emotional impact on families when discussing special education needs. Be kind and empathetic when communicating with families.
• It is a federal requirement that districts must secure qualified interpreters for students who speak low-incidence languages.
• Foster collaboration between English learner educators, special educators and specialists to tailor support based on each student’s needs rather than relying on one-size-fits-all solutions.
• Start small and be intentional when creating inclusive learning spaces. Consider centering student interests, involving families, partnering with colleagues and creating space for all languages.
• Ensure that your practices match your intentions. When working together, it is possible to meet the needs of all of students.

Check out these resources:

• Newcomer Toolkit (U.S. Department of Education)
• María Cioè-Peña’s articles
• Mending the intersectional gap: Supporting emergent multilinguals labeled as disabled through translanguaging and Universal Design for Learning (Padía, Cioè-Peña & Phuong)