ELL Students with Disabilities - Updated Guidance
Here’s what's important for special educators to understand at a minimum:
The annual state assessment of English Learners (ELs) to determine progress with English proficiency is called the WIDA ACCESS. All ELs identified as Limited English Proficient (LEP) take this assessment in the spring. A EL student who also has an IEP will take the WIDA ACCESS. The only exception to this is for EL students who have an IEP for a significant cognitive disability and the IEP team has determined that an alternate assessment is more appropriate than then lowest-tiered level of the WIDA ACCESS. The alternate assessment for EL students with IEPs for significant cognitive disabilities is the WIDA Alternate ACCESS (see attached PDF). The IEP team documents this assessment in the student’s IEP.
If an EL student moves in to a school district, he/she is given the WIDA screener at the time of enrollment. The WIDA screener is called the WIDA APT. That student will then take the WIDA ACCESS in the spring.
There is currently no alternate WIDA screener for EL students who have been previously identified as having a significant cognitive disability and have an IEP. These move-in students with an IEP would take the WIDA APT just like all other move-in EL students.
View the PDF HERE.
