700,000 English-Language Learners Have a Disability. We Have to Do Better by Them
August 1, 2018
By: Rochelle Verstaendig
Source: Education Week
A Pakistani 2nd grader with dyslexia, a South American girl suffering from a benign brain tumor, and a Japanese teenager experiencing symptoms of attention deficit disorder might not have a lot in common at first glance. However, they are all English-language learners who have also been identified as having an intellectual, psychological, or physical disability. I have taught students much like these—and countless others—during my 28 years as an English-as-a-new-language teacher in New York.
Recent figures from the National Center for Educational Statistics indicate that more than 700,000 English-language learners with disabilities are currently enrolled in the nation’s public elementary and secondary schools. This comprises 14.7 percent of the total ELL population in U.S. public schools.