When I first immigrated to America from Iran as an eight-year-old, I was mistakenly placed in a special education program. Los Angeles Unified School District didn’t know what to do with a child who spoke Farsi and Armenian—not the Romantic languages they were familiar with (e.g. Spanish).
A few months thereafter, my family moved from Hollywood to Glendale and I was transferred to Mark Keppel Elementary School. It took a while but the new school system (for which I work today) caught the misidentification. They realized I didn’t need special education; the problem wasn’t my ability to learn, it was my limited-Englsih proficiency. I was moved to a speech-only program to help me with specific sounds, like the "TH" phoneme (which isn't part of Farsi or Armenian phonology) and then quickly moved out.
This experience drives my deep passion for ensuring that English Learners (ELs) are not misidentified or misunderstood. It’s too easy for a school to mistake a language barrier for a learning disability. And when that happens, it can set a child back, not just academically but emotionally. Language Appraisal Teams (LATs) in California schools are designed to prevent exactly this kind of mistake.
LATs are a dedicated group of professionals — administrators, teachers, EL specialists, counselors, and sometimes parents — who work together to monitor the progress of English Learners, particularly those who have been reclassified as Fluent English Proficient (RFEP). These students have met the criteria for reclassification, but their journey is far from over. The LAT keeps a close eye on them for four years to make sure they are still thriving. If a reclassified student begins to struggle, the LAT can step in early and provide the needed support.
But the role of LATs goes beyond just monitoring RFEP students. They are also vital in identifying when an EL student’s challenges might be more than just a language issue. Before a student is referred for a special education evaluation or a Student Success Team (SST) meeting, the LAT should thoroughly examines their progress. This ensures that the difficulties they face are not being confused with the process of acquiring English.
Misidentifying an English Learner as having a learning disability can have long-lasting consequences. It means they might not get the language support they need, and instead, they are placed in programs that don’t address their actual challenges. LATs act as a safeguard, ensuring that students are evaluated through the lens of their linguistic development first.
We need to be vigilant in our care for English Learners. These students come to school with a wealth of knowledge and potential, but if we misread their struggles as cognitive deficits rather than language development issues, we risk sidelining them from the education they deserve. The work of Language Appraisal Teams is not just a procedural necessity; it’s a vital part of ensuring equity, opportunity, and success for every student who is learning English as a second or third language. This kind of care and attention makes all the difference.