Meeting the Educational Needs of Diverse Learners

DeAngela Milligan and Sarah Bardack

Participants will:

Better understand the importance of individualizing service delivery to meet the needs of diverse learners

Discuss the barriers to and learn strategies for meeting the educational needs of diverse learners

Identify what to look for when monitoring programs in relation to diverse learners

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Objectives

Assessing, identifying, and meeting the unique needs of students being served by Title I, Part D, is a requirement for Title I, Part D, funding and program evaluation

Failing to identify, assess, and address the needs of diverse learners could ultimately affect Federal monitoring reviews

Ensuring that diverse learners receive a high-quality education is essential

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Importance of Ensuring That the Needs of Diverse Learners Are Identified, Assessed, and Addressed

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Importance of Ensuring That the Needs of Diverse Learners Are Identified, Assessed, and Addressed

Title I, Part D, Statute

Subpart 1: Section 1414

Subpart 2: Sections 1423, 1424, 1425

Subpart 3: Section 1431

Title I, Part D, Nonregulatory Guidance

Subpart 1: Sections B–5, E–3, G–1, and J–4

Subpart 2: Sections N–1, O–1, O–2, and P–1

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Title I, Part D, Laws and Regulations Regarding the Education of Diverse Learners

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—prohibits race, color, and national origin discrimination

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973—prohibits disability discrimination

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—prohibits sex discrimination

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990—prohibits disability discrimination by public entities

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Other Federal Laws Relevant to Diverse Learners

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Who Are Diverse Learners?

Diverse learners are students from different backgrounds that include but are not limited to:

Cultural, linguistic, and racial or ethnic minority

Learning, emotional, or social disability

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ or LGBT)

Title I, Part D, coordinators should focus on providing leadership and guidance to subgrantees on meeting the needs of diverse learners by:

Reviewing data to identify diverse learners

Providing technical assistance (TA) to subgrantees during monitoring to help recognize gaps in providing instruction

Continually evaluate progress in meeting the educational needs of diverse learners through monitoring reviews

Subgrantees need to be able to:

Use data to assess the educational needs of diverse learners

Implement strategies based on individual needs8

One Size Will Not Fit All: Identify, Assess, and Address

Strategies for use by Title I, Part D, coordinators may include: Using Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR) data to

identify students who are struggling academically

Requesting that subgrantees report multiple measures of student progress

Communicating the importance of disaggregating program data

Strategies for use by subgrantees may include: Holding regular meetings with staff to discuss individual students

Working with facility staff to coordinate with other services that may have expertise with diverse learners (e.g., special education, English language learning)

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Identifying Diverse Learners

Barriers faced by Title I, Part D, coordinators may include:

Inaccurate or incomplete data

Limited time to sufficiently identify diverse learners or take steps to address their needs

Barriers faced by subgrantees may include:

Insufficient funding

Low capacity regarding teaching staff or facility space

Lack of staff awareness, antipathy, or lack of comfort with cultural diversity on the part of staff toward these students’ needs

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Barriers to Meeting the Educational Needs of Diverse Learners

Strategies may include:

Using data-driven decisionmaking to improve monitoring outcomes

Identifying monitoring indicators that promote better outcomes for diverse learners

Diversity awareness training for staff that includes learning how to identify and address students’ needs

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Report Out: Strategies for Meeting Student’s Educational Needs

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Resources

NDTAC Resources: NDTAC Data Corner: The Data Corner provides indepth information on

collecting, reporting, and analyzing Title I, Part D, data and can give you tools to identify diverse learners and assess their educational needs. http://www.neglecteddelinquent.org/nd/data/datacorner.asp

NDTAC Monitoring and Compliance Web page: The Monitoring and Compliance page contains multiple resources (such as tips sheets for preparing for Federal monitoring), which include strategies that can be adapted to focus on diverse learners. http://www.neglected delinquent.org/nd/resources/library/monitoring.asp

Upcoming NDTAC Literacy and Numeracy Toolkits: NDTAC plans to publish literacy and numeracy toolkits in the summer that will include strategies for direct instruction, which may be helpful for diverse learners.

U.S. Department of Education Resources:

Access Center: Includes resources that focus on rigorous academic content areas—language arts, math, and science—as well as on instructional and learning strategies to provide instruction for students who have disabilities. http://www.k8accesscenter.org/index.php

Office for Civil Rights (OCR): OCR is responsible for resolving any complaints of discrimination and also can provide TA on preventing and addressing discrimination. http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html

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Resources

U.S. Department of Justice Resources:

Disproportionate Minority Contact Web site: The Disproportionate Minority Contact Web site provides information and tools on how to identify and reduce disproportionate minority representation in the juvenile justice system. http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/dmc/index.html

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) National Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Databook: This databook may include supplemental data to help you identify diverse learners in your facilities. http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/dmcdb/index.html

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Resources