IEPs for ELs

And Other Diverse Learners

John J. Hoover, James R. Patton

• Publisher: Corwin
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781506393452
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

Develop and monitor high-quality IEPs for diverse learners High-quality IEPs are fundamental for guiding the educational process of and developing goals for students who require special education services. English learners (ELs) and other students with learning, emotional, or behavioral disabilities present unique challenges to educators responsible for referring, assessing, and placing them. IEPs for ELs provides educators with numerous research-based strategies and examples of how to write effective IEPs for these K-12 learners. John J. Hoover and James Patton, leading professionals in the areas of special education and linguistic diversity, share their research and how they have supported ELs who have, or are suspected of having, learning and intellectual disabilities. Readers will find:

• Practical guidance for developing and monitoring culturally and linguistically responsive IEPs
• Checklists, guides, and other reproducibles that support IEP development
• Case studies and vignettes highlighting examples of appropriate IEPs for diverse learners

Filled with expert practical advice that covers the IEP process and walks the reader through the procedure for creating high-quality IEPs that take individual differences into account, this guide is essential for special educators and bilingual/EL specialists.

"A major strength for this book is its unique tie to English learners, while providing a dual focus on IEP writing. This is a great tool to use when training new special education teachers and IEP facilitators. There are direct connections to writing legally defensible plans with a user-friendly focus on IEP writing. I see this book as a tool to support teachers and students in ensuring that language and cultural considerations are included when developing and updating individual plans."
—Renee Bernhardt, Supervisor, Special Education
Cherokee County School District, GA

1 Understanding a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Multi-Tiered System of Supports

Practitioner’s Perspective …

What are the key features of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)? How does an MTSS framework best serve culturally and linguistically diverse learners? How is an IEP best delivered within an MTSS model for English language and other diverse learners?

In order to develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that reflects the cultural and linguistic diversity of English language and other diverse learners, educators must possess a working knowledge of culturally and linguistically responsive principles and practices. Specifically, abilities associated with culturally and linguistically responsive teaching are critical to informed IEPs for diverse students. This chapter provides an overview of the unique qualities and strengths that English language and other diverse learners bring to the teaching and learning environment. The following topics are addressed: (a) MTSS in today’s schools, (b) MTSS and cultural and linguistic diversity, (c) key features of culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and stages to becoming a culturally proficient educator, and (d) suggestions for applying MTSS knowledge and skills in the development of culturally and linguistically responsive IEPs for English language and other diverse learners with disabilities. We begin with an overview of an MTSS framework for meeting needs of struggling learners, including diverse students with disabilities.

Overview of MTSS

The eventual placement of a student into special education is framed within a multi-tiered model that includes documentation of lack of progress leading to referral. Once placed, the development, delivery, and refinement of an Individualized Education Program for English language and other diverse learners occur within the school-wide instructional framework designed to educate all students. Over the past several decades, we have educated students with and without disabilities through a variety of structures that included self-contained, resource, mainstreaming, inclusion, full inclusion, response to treatment, response to instruction, and response to intervention models (Hoover, 2013). No matter how the instruction is framed in a school, it serves as a backdrop and perspective, requiring a working level of understanding to best inform effective instruction provided through delivery of an IEP.

The contemporary framework for educating all learners in today’s schools is through delivery of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). What is an MTSS model and how does it differ from previous models? Though specific definitions vary in how an MTSS is characterized, a recent American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education report captures the key aspects typically found in most MTSS definitions:

A comprehensive system of differentiated supports that includes evidence-based instruction, universal screening, progress monitoring, formative assessments, research-based interventions matched to student needs, and educational decision making using student outcome data. (Blanton, Pugach, & Florian, 2011, p. 15)

An MTSS model of instruction serves as the foundation of IEP development by incorporating key features associated with response to intervention (RTI) and positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), thereby emphasizing the interrelated features of academic and affective learner development. Similar to IEPs, the structure of an MTSS model varies across schools and school districts; however, the Colorado state MTSS model contains several common components found in most models as illustrated in Table 1.1. The model components are first presented in the table as essential for addressing educational needs of all learners, which is followed by specific examples of how cultural and linguistic features should be incorporated to generate an MTSS model most relevant to English language and other diverse learners.

Specifics concerning the application and implementation of an MTSS framework vary based on school district size, population, geographic location, available resources, and other related factors. However, each of the six features listed in Table 1.1 is important to include in a school- or district-wide MTSS model. Our purpose for presenting the core features of an MTSS model is to remind practitioners of the most important aspects that frame effective instruction for all learners, especially English language and other diverse learners, instruction that eventually may be drawn upon for informed IEP development and implementation. For additional and more detailed information about different MTSS models, the reader is referred to Center on Response to Intervention (n.d.), Hoover (2013), Vanderwood and Nam (2007).

MTSS and Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

A properly developed and implemented MTSS should by its very nature meet the diverse needs of all learners. However, as seen in many of our previous models of instruction (e.g., mainstreaming, response to intervention) without specific attention to cultural and linguistic diversity, the models may be appropriate in general for diverse learners yet lack specificity required to bring them to a more culturally responsive level (Ortiz et al., 2011). Therefore, attention to some of the key instructional qualities and strengths brought to the instructional environment by CLD learners is necessary. Each of the six MTSS features summarized above contains embedded opportunities for making certain that the model is appropriate for English language and other diverse learners, leading to informed IEPs.

Shared Leadership.

Educators with expertise (i.e., training, experience) in the education of culturally and linguistically diverse learners bring much needed knowledge, skills, and perspective to the MTSS leadership. Too often we operate from the perspective of a one size fits all model, which serves only to undermine the concept and practice of diversity. Educational leadership in the development and implementation of an MTSS model requires representation from experts in curriculum, content, and management as well as from those most knowledgeable about the influences of cultural and linguistic diversity on the implementation of that curriculum, content, and management. Effective leadership throughout instructional delivery within a school-wide MTSS framework is necessary to ensure proper development of an IEP for diverse learners with a disability.

A key question to ponder: Does the team leadership in your school or district include educators with expertise in the education of culturally and linguistically diverse learners?

Data-Based Problem Solving and Decision Making.

A cornerstone of MTSS is the gathering, charting, and analyzing of data reflecting learners’ academic and affective growth, followed by decisions based on those data. Procedures in the data process need to be standardized, so comparisons across time may be made using tools or assessment measures designed to assess the specific area (e.g., self-management behaviors, reading fluency rate, mathematics reasoning). However, a critical area of caution when implementing this feature of an MTSS model is making certain that the data collection procedures are appropriate for English language and other diverse learners by taking into account cultural and linguistic qualities (Hoover & Klingner, 2011). Oftentimes, we use in good faith an instrument to gather data that has not been validated for use with English learners, or it fails to address in its development the various stages of second language acquisition. Of most significance in the implementation of this MTSS feature is the possibility that if decision making and problem solving for an English language or other diverse learner are based on data that are not culturally responsive, thereby inaccurately demonstrating a learner’s actual progress, then subsequent instructional adjustments, multi-tiered placements, possible referral for special education, or the contents of an IEP may also be inaccurate.

A key question to ponder: To what extent is the data-based decision making for English language and other diverse learners in your MTSS based on data collected using culturally and linguistically responsive methods and devices?

Multi-Tiered Continuum of Supports.

The concept of layered instruction, increasing in duration and intensity, provides the framework for delivering education in our schools. Though easy to comprehend in theory, actual practice of tiered instruction often represents unique challenges to educators of English language and other diverse learners (Hoover & Klingner, 2011). Of most concern is the delivery of tiered instruction in a way that meets the needs of all learners in a classroom or grade, differentiated sufficiently to be culturally and linguistically responsive. Multi-tiered supports are only effective if they provide diverse learners sufficient opportunities to learn, particularly in Tiers 1 and 2. Though the MTSS structure in a school is the same for all learners, decision making concerning high-quality differentiated instruction for English language and other diverse learners requires emphasis on language skill development not typically necessary for non-English learners. Incorporating academic language development (see Chapter 3) in the education of English learners is fundamental to providing sufficient opportunities to learn (Gottlieb & Ernst-Slavit, 2014), and it is essential to consider when addressing IEP needs in MTSS models.

A key question to ponder : What features within your school's MTSS provide evidence that the model reflects cultural and linguistic diversity in the education of all learners to ensure accurate special education referral, placement, and subsequent IEP development?

Evidence-Based Instruction, Intervention, Assessment.

A most critical aspect in the education of diverse learners pertains to the extent that education incorporates methods, materials, classroom management, cooperative groupings, curriculum-based measurement, or access to content reflective of cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the students. Most curricula, assessment devices, and expectations for achieving benchmarks are almost always reflective of a mainstream, Anglo, middle-class perspective—a perspective that may vary significantly from values, teachings and expectations of many English language and other diverse learners educated in today’s schools and classrooms (Hoover, 2013; Orosco, de Schonewise, de Onis, Klingner, & Hoover, 2016). Similar to use of data discussed above, we often in good faith implement instruction and interventions including methods, materials, or management that were not designed or are inappropriate for use with English learners, students from diverse cultural backgrounds, or those with limited experiences due to lack of appropriate learning opportunities. Yet as we assess progress to determine growth, we fail to recognize that delivery of instruction, interventions, or assessments that are not culturally and linguistically responsive has little chance of facilitating growth expectations for diverse students as compared to non-English learners and other mainstream students. The influence and direction of shared leadership is critical when implementing this evidence-based feature within an MTSS model to make certain that instruction, intervention, and assessment are culturally and linguistically responsive. Development of proper IEPs can be achieved only if this MTSS feature is properly delivered to all learners prior to and subsequent to special education referral and placement, especially English language and other diverse learners.

Universal Screening and Progress Monitoring.

The practice of screening learners for evidence of struggle two to three times per school year is standard in today’s districts. Similarly, more frequent monitoring to maintain current data on a struggling student’s progress is also standard practice. In regard to English language and other diverse learners, the practice of universal screening or progress monitoring represents a challenge to educators due to lack of valid and reliable devices (Basterra, Trumbull, & Solano-Flores, 2011; Hoover & Klingner, 2011). Though most nationally developed, normed, and standardized screening and monitoring devices are appropriate for non-English learners and mainstream students, when used with diverse students, they often yield invalid or inaccurate results, due to English language proficiency levels or cultural expectations that some English language or other diverse learners do not possess (Hoover, Baca, & Klingner, 2016). This, in turn, leads to instructional, referral, and/or placement decisions that may also be inaccurate. The significance of using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) to screen and monitor English language and other diverse...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• About the Contributors
• Introduction: Blueprint of IEPs for ELs and Other Diverse Learners
• 1 Understanding a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Multi-Tiered System of Supports
• 2 Essential Components of IEPs for English Language and Other Diverse Learners
• 3 Role and Function of Academic Language in IEPs
• 4 Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance: Determining Accurate Levels and Developing Meaningful Statements
• 5 IEPs and the Development of Measurable Annual Goals Using SMART Principles
• 6 Delivering Appropriate IEP Services
• 7 Special Considerations and Diversity
• 8 IEP Progress Monitoring and Diverse Needs
• 9 Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Transition Planning and Services
• 10 Guidelines for Successful IEP Meetings for Diverse Learners
• 11 Putting the IEP Pieces Together
• Appendix
• References
• Index
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