State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces the Release of the California Practitioners’ Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today the release of the much-anticipated “California Practitioners’ Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities.” The guide will help with identifying, assessing, supporting, and reclassifying English learners with disabilities.

“This resource will benefit the teachers and other professionals involved in the education of more than 220,000 identified English learner students with disabilities,” said Thurmond. “In California, we serve all students. Identifying what each child needs and addressing those needs is essential so that all students can reach their full potential.”

The guide came about from Assembly Bill 2785 in 2016. It added “Education Code” 56305, requiring the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop guidance to local educational agencies on identifying English learners as individuals with exceptional needs, classifying individuals with exceptional needs as English learners, supporting pupils who are both English learners and individuals with exceptional needs, and determining when such pupils should be either removed from classification as English learners or exited from special education.

The “California Practitioners’ Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities” was developed with the assistance of a broad coalition with decades of professional experience, including teachers, administrators, and staff members from county offices of education, universities, educational organizations, and associations.

To view and download the “California Practitioners’ Guide for Educating English Learners with Disabilities,” visit the CDE Announcements and Current Issues web page.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100