Cuban study addresses the complex needs of multilingual learners in special education

Growing up in a multilingual family, Melissa Cuba knows first-hand what school is like for students with multifaceted identities and diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

As an assistant professor of special education in the University of Maine's School of Education and Human Development, Cuba's research focuses on specific subpopulations. multilingual learner — Persons with disabilities who also require special educational services. As the population grows nationally, more families, teachers, administrators, policy makers, and other education stakeholders are trying to best meet the academic, linguistic, and social-emotional needs of these students. She says she would need information on how.

“Students in special education have the right to a free, appropriate public education and an individualized instructional plan tailored to their disability needs,” Cuba says. “They also have a legal right to receive language development services under Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to meet their language needs.”

Cuban, who is Peruvian-American, recalls some of the challenges she faced not only as a student who immigrated to the United States at a young age but later as an English for Speakers of Other Languages ​​(ESOL) and special education teacher. . She becomes a professor and researcher.

In 2022, she helped develop the Maine Department of Education. resource guide So that educators can support these students.She was also named a member of the department Multilingual Learner Advisory Committee.

Federal policy requires schools to have two plans for multilingual learners with disabilities: one that addresses special education needs and one that addresses language needs. However, in Cuba, this often does not happen.

“There is a perception that special education takes precedence over language acquisition services or that language plans are optional, but that is not the case,” Cuba says. “So we need to make sure we communicate to educators and schools that we need to bring educators and other school professionals to the table to discuss the importance of both services and understand why.” there is.”

As immigration and refugee resettlement patterns change, the number of multilingual learners with disabilities will increase in more communities and in overlooked areas, Cuba says.

“In Maine, for example, places like Portland and Lewiston already have strong refugee resettlement programs for families that provide comprehensive services such as employment and housing,” she says. “But there are also so-called new immigrant destinations in the suburbs and rural areas. They may not have seen many multilingual learners with disabilities before, much less need language acquisition services alone. Needless to say, there are many learners who do this.

Although the number of multilingual learners with disabilities is increasing, Cuba said, this study also points to the issue of disproportionality in which these students are over- or under-represented in special education for a variety of reasons. He said there was.

“For example, research shows that students of color are over-recognized compared to white students with the same disabilities and receive less access to special education services, especially when it comes to subjective categories such as: “We know that children with emotional disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and specific learning disabilities are more likely to be segregated in self-contained classrooms or life skills classrooms,” Cuba says. “This has implications for learning opportunities, including curriculum changes or reductions, impacting access to content and skill development.”

Adai Tefera, a colleague from Cuba and the University of Arizona, published a study. Teacher's university grades She applied an intersectional framework to data on multilingual students in Virginia, where she conducted her doctoral research at Virginia Commonwealth University. She examines statewide education statistics to understand how relationships among race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and other social categories influence educational practices and policies, as well as diversity in special education. We attempted to gain a more nuanced understanding of the degree of uneven distribution of language learners. education. To paint a more complete picture, Cuba also interviewed teachers and staff from Virginia school districts and state education agency officials who work with multilingual learners with disabilities.

The study showed that there is no majority or underrepresentation of multilingual learners in special education in kindergarten through fifth grade in Virginia, but multilingual learners are overrepresented in grades six through 12; Cuba claims this contradicts and sometimes confirms previous research.

“Using a cross-sectional framework for statistical analysis revealed disparities that might be obscured by a more one-dimensional approach, whereas interviews shed more light on why these disparities occur. It helped me better understand and contextualize how multilingual learner policies and practices are communicated and implemented within schools,” Cuba says. .

The interviews also yielded interesting insights, including educators grappling with how their own perceptions of immigrant families influence the services and educational outcomes provided to multilingual learners. For example, one teacher said she had seen immigrant students experience racism, but she still used stereotypes when discussing those students. He described the children as “very hard-working children of very hard-working parents,” but added: “They don't necessarily know how to turn hard work into learning.” Meanwhile, a state education official spoke of the need to address the flawed thinking among educators who blame student failures on language diversity rather than on flaws in the systems and structures surrounding them.

Overall, Cuba said this study shows the importance of context and nuance when supporting multilingual learners.

“All of these issues are situational,” she says. “How our education system works, who informs it, who has a seat at the table, and the historical context of our community.”

Going forward, Cuba will focus on Maine schools and communities, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, and developing tools and interventions to better serve multilingual learners in special education.

“Now we must talk about solutions: reducing disparities by training educators, easing the burden on families, and empowering families to co-build solutions and provide input.” It’s about working together,” she says.

The Maine College of Education and Human Development recently Multilingual special education A graduate certificate designed for practicing teachers who want a deeper understanding of evidence-based practices and educational policies to support culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities.

Contact: Casey Kelly, casey.kelly@maine.edu