Chapter 3: Referral, Assessment, and Identification

The process of referral, assessment, and identification of English learners (ELs) for learning disabilities (LD) is complex for school districts, individual schools, and decision-making teams (Counts et al., 2018). According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004, LD is defined as “…a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations” [20 U.S.C. § 1400)]. Language is part of the definition of a LD which makes distinguishing this disability difficult when a student is learning a second language. Additionally, lack of valid and reliable assessments adds to the complexity for districts, schools, and decision-making teams.