<p> The purpose of this research is to investigate the services and supports that EL students with special needs receive. It is a goal of this study also to determine which students achieve higher CST scores on the English Language Arts section, based on the supports that they receive and the programs in which they are placed. The researcher utilized a web-based survey distributed to 8 Bilingual Coordinators and 48 Special Education teachers, of whom 8 Bilingual Coordinators and 23 Special Education teachers responded. The surveys consisted of 27 questions regarding the services received by Special Education students who are also ELs. Three additional open-ended items were included. Four interviews were also conducted with two district-level specialist, one local district specialist, and a school administrator.</p><p> Five conclusions based on the findings were determined. First, ELs are all placed into the programs and provided with the language support according to their IEPs. Second, teachers utilize SDAIE strategies when working with EL special needs students. Third, a scheduling issue has prevented students from being in an ESL class when their IEPs state that they should also be receiving one hour of support from the Special Education teacher. Fourth, different individuals are involved in making decisions about the services that EL students receive. Finally, there was no systematic difference between the scores of the RSP and SDC students on the CST ELA assessment.</p><p> The study provides several implications for practitioners. Special Education teachers do not have the experience in bilingual education to fully understand the needs of EL special needs students. Scheduling problems existed when special needs students required an ESL class. This is significant for school leaders; if a barrier exists for EL special needs students being able to receive language support, then a solution to this issue needs to be found. Finally, parent participation is extremely important for IEP meetings and they need to be included in IEPs.</p><p> Expanding this research should focus in more depth on the language supports that EL special needs students received, and whether SDAIE strategies are appropriate for EL special needs students.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3577927 |
| Date | 25 January 2014 |
| Creators | Martinez, Veronica |
| Publisher | California State University, Fullerton |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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