Language difference or disability?
By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated
Short answer
A language difference is the normal pattern of a student still learning English or using a dialect; a disability shows up in every language the student uses and persists with good instruction. The deciding test: does the student struggle in the home language and compared with peers of similar language background and schooling? If yes, a disability is possible.
Telling a language difference from a disability is one of the hardest calls an evaluation team makes. Federal rules set two guardrails. Assessments must be given in the language and form most likely to yield accurate information on what the student knows and can do.[1] And a team cannot find a student eligible when the determinant factor is limited English proficiency.[2] Neither rule bars English learners from special education. They require the team to show the problem is more than the language gap.
The deciding question
Ask: does the difficulty appear in the home language too, and is the student behind true peers? True peers are students with the same home language, similar time learning English and similar schooling. A student who reads and talks well in Spanish but struggles in English is showing a difference. A student who has trouble learning words and sounds in Spanish, English and at home, and who falls behind classmates with the same background, may have a disability. A language disorder shows up across all the languages a child uses.[4]
Side-by-side table
| Language difference | Disability | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Normal patterns of second-language learning or dialect | A disorder in one of the 300.8 categories that affects learning in every language |
| Basis in law | Limited English cannot be the determinant factor[2] | Student meets a category and needs specially designed instruction[3] |
| Home language skills | Age-appropriate for exposure | Weak for age and exposure |
| Compared with true peers | Similar progress | Slower progress with the same instruction |
| Response to good ELD and core instruction | Steady growth | Little growth despite strong, well-delivered instruction |
| Typical errors | Transfer patterns from the home language (word order, sounds the home language lacks) | Errors that do not follow the home language and appear in both languages |
| Who decides | Language services team and teachers | Eligibility team with someone who knows second-language development |
| Where documented | Language proficiency records and ELD plan | Evaluation report, including how language was ruled out as the main cause |
What the evaluation needs
Before testing, gather the history. Pull language proficiency scores across years, the years and type of English language development (ELD) services, attendance, schooling in the home country and any gaps in schooling. A student with two years of interrupted schooling will look like a student with a learning disability on almost any English test.
During testing:
- Use the home language where possible, through bilingual evaluators or trained interpreters. A test translated on the spot is not the same as a normed test in that language, so report scores with that caution.
- Gather language samples in both languages, from home and school.
- Ask parents how the child compares with siblings and cousins at the same age. A parent who says "she talks less than her brothers did in Arabic too" gives the team real data.
- Use dynamic assessment: teach a new skill briefly and watch how fast the student learns it. Quick learning points to a difference.
The full process is covered step by step in evaluating English learners for special education. The guide to present levels for English learners shows how to write this up once a student is found eligible.
Three scenarios
1. Carlos, grade 2, two years in U.S. schools. He reads 31 words correct per minute in English but decodes grade-level Spanish text well. His ELD teacher reports steady growth, and he is close to classmates who arrived at the same time. Answer: Language difference. Why: Strong home-language literacy and progress in line with true peers.
2. Amina, grade 4, born in the U.S., Somali spoken at home. Her English proficiency scores are near the top level, yet she reads at a grade 1 level. Her parents say she was slow to learn letters in the Somali-language weekend school as well. She has had two years of small-group phonics with weekly progress checks and little growth. Answer: A specific learning disability is possible; refer for evaluation. Why: The reading problem shows up in both languages, her English proficiency is not the barrier and she has not responded to good instruction.
3. Luis, kindergarten, Spanish-English bilingual. He uses short sentences and leaves off some word endings in English. In Spanish, his parents report full sentences and age-typical stories. Answer: Language difference, and keep watching. Why: Dropping English endings is a common second-language pattern. His home language is age-appropriate. If his Spanish also showed short sentences and few words for his age, a speech-language referral would make sense. See speech or language impairment eligibility for how SLPs judge this.
Mistakes that skew the decision
- Weak: "His English scores are low, so he qualifies." Better: Compare with true peers and home-language skills before calling it a disability.
- Weak: Waiting until a student is fully proficient in English before referring. Better: Refer when the evidence points to a disability, at any proficiency level.
- Weak: Giving an English test through an interpreter and reporting standard scores as if they were valid. Better: Report descriptively and explain what the scores can and cannot say.
- Weak: Treating a dialect feature, such as a regional verb form, as an error. Better: Score against the student's own dialect. ASHA's position is that no dialect is a disorder of speech or language.[6]
When a student is both
Many students are English learners and have a disability. Once a team finds both, the student gets ELD services and special education at the same time; one does not replace the other. The IEP should name language supports, and goals should be written with both in mind. The library of IEP goals for English learners and the guide to ELL accommodations in the IEP are good starting points. The glossary entry on the English learner with an IEP sums up the dual services.
For core instruction that helps English learners before any referral, the What Works Clearinghouse practice guide recommends teaching academic vocabulary and building writing alongside content.[5] Good instruction is the baseline the team needs to rule out lack of instruction, so it matters for the evaluation too. For the wider process, see the IEP evaluation process and how labels are chosen in primary vs secondary disability.
Frequently asked questions
Do schools have to wait a set number of years before evaluating an English learner?
No. Federal rules do not set a waiting period. A school should evaluate when it suspects a disability, regardless of how long the student has been learning English. The team must then show the problem is not mainly due to limited English.
Can an English learner be tested in English only?
Assessments must be given in the language and form most likely to give accurate information, unless that is clearly not feasible. For many English learners that means testing in the home language or both languages, with careful notes on any limits.
Does a student lose English language services after getting an IEP?
No. A student who is an English learner and has a disability is entitled to both English language development services and special education. The IEP team should plan how the two work together.
Use it in IEP Atlas
- IEP goals for english learners
- English learner with IEP in the IEP glossary
- Evaluation in the IEP glossary
Related guides
- The IEP evaluation process: from referral to eligibility
- Primary vs secondary disability category
- What are the 13 categories of special education?
- Speech or language impairment eligibility, area by area
- Present levels for English learners with IEPs
- Evaluating English learners for special education fairly
Sources
- 34 CFR §300.304: Evaluation procedures, U.S. Department of Education (IDEA website)
- 34 CFR §300.306: Determination of eligibility, U.S. Department of Education (IDEA website)
- 34 CFR §300.8: Child with a disability, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Multilingual Service Delivery in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, ASHA
- Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
- Social Dialects (Position Statement), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.