Investigating the Intersectional Gap for Bilingual Children in Special Education

• In Event: Bilingual and English Language Learners With Disabilities: Research and Practice

Abstract

This article draws upon a critical dis/abilities raciolinguistic (CDR) perspective to investigate the relationship between home language and inclusion in general education (GE) from elementary through high school among students labeled as disabled (SLADs). We used longitudinal multilevel modeling to examine the effect of home language on school type, percentage of the school day in GE, and placement in GE classes for six subjects. Compared to SLADs whose home language is English, linguistically diverse (LD) children were significantly less likely to be included in GE across all three variables, regardless of English Language Learner status. These findings contribute to disproportionality research by comparing LD students to monolingual English-speaking peers labeled as disabled.

Authors

• Brittney Cooper, University of California - Berkeley

• Bowen Wang-Kildegaard, University of California - Berkeley