EL Supports and Accommodations
School districts must provide English Learners equitable access to the core curriculum and opportunities to participate meaningfully in the district’s programs, academic opportunities, and extra-curricular activities. ELs should be placed in age-appropriate grade levels with full access to grade-appropriate curriculum while receiving cultural and linguistic assistance needed to participate fully while acquiring English proficiency.
Questions to consider when selecting supports and accommodations include:
Questions to consider when selecting supports and accommodations include:
- What is the student’s level of proficiency in each language domain, both in English and in their native language?
- What is the student’s comfort level with the school system?
- What kinds of supports does the student currently use in the classroom?
Assessments and supports generally fall into three categories:
- Universal tools are available to any student on demand.
- Supports or Designated Supports are generally available only to students who need them, and are not designed for all students to use.
- Accommodations are generally available only to students with a need documented in an IEP or 504 plan.
- Expect English Learners to achieve grade-level academic content standards.
- Learn about accommodations and supports for instruction and assessment. Each assessment may have slightly different options and ways of describing those options.
- Select accommodations and supports for instruction and assessment based on the needs of individual students.
- Provide accommodations and supports during instruction and assessment. Differentiate instruction by using a variety of supports to fit the needs of individual students while keeping cognitive function and rigor the same. Make sure students have experience with the selected assessment supports and accommodations before the day of the test.
- Evaluate and improve the use of accommodations and supports for individual students.
English Learners have the same rights as all students to a free and equal education, including special education services when appropriate. When an EL is determined to also be a student with a disability, as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), the student’s EL and disability-related educational needs must both be met.
Districts are required to notify parents of these rights to Special Education services in a language that they can understand and to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the student’s parents understand the proceedings of the IEP team meeting. This may include arranging for an interpreter for parents with limited English proficiency or translating IEPs, Section 504 plans, or related documents into the parent’s primary language.
For more information, see the DPI EL Handbook Chapter 11.
Districts are required to notify parents of these rights to Special Education services in a language that they can understand and to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the student’s parents understand the proceedings of the IEP team meeting. This may include arranging for an interpreter for parents with limited English proficiency or translating IEPs, Section 504 plans, or related documents into the parent’s primary language.
For more information, see the DPI EL Handbook Chapter 11.
ELs Who are Immigrants
Students who are immigrants retain all the rights of U.S.-born students to a free and equal public education. Furthermore, under the U.S. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, schools are required to provide equal access to a basic public education to all students, regardless of immigration status, and may not inquire about a student or their parents’ immigration status.
English Learners may fall into one or more of the following categories:
English Learners may fall into one or more of the following categories:
- Immigrant students are aged 3 through 21; were not born in any state (or Puerto Rico); and have not been attending one or more schools in any one or more states for more than 3 full academic years.
- Newcomer students are recently arrived English Learners who have been enrolled in US schools for less than 12 cumulative months.
- Refugee students are generally outside of their country and are unable or unwilling to return home because they (or their family) fear serious harm.
- Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE or SIFE) are new to U.S. schools, above the age of seven, who have missed more than six consecutive months of formal schooling prior to enrolling in a U.S. school, and/or are more than two years below grade level in content due to limited educational supports.
- Migrant students are those who are, or whose parent/guardian is, a migratory fisher, dairy worker, or agricultural worker (including canning and meatpacking), AND who in the preceding 36 months has moved from one school district to another in order for the worker to obtain temporary or seasonal employment in agricultural or fishing work.
- Potential lack of access to school
- Different curriculum
- Exposure to non-western education settings
- Different school behavior/cultural expectations
- Limited exposure to technology
Unique Circumstances
English Learners from "unique circumstances" may include:
- Foreign exchange students
- ELs in private/non-public schools
- Students moving to Wisconsin from another state
- Students in Native American or BIE schools
- Students experiencing homelessness or out-of-home care
- PreK students
- Students unable to access one or two domains
For information specific to these circumstances, see the DPI EL Handbook Chapter 13.
