Name: How Can School Districts Better Support English Learners With Disabilities?
Start: 2026-10-15T14:00:00ZEDT
End: 2026-10-15T15:00:00ZEDT

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Many school districts struggle to meet the needs of English learners, and the challenges can be especially daunting when it comes to supporting students from that population who have disabilities. A recent survey by the EdWeek Research Center found that 75 percent of educators say the number of appropriately trained staff in their school systems are insufficient for English learners in special education.

In this webinar, our panelists will discuss strategies that district and school leaders can create to better support for this population—often called dually identified students — whether it’s through professional training, classroom support, or structural changes across the district.

Lizdelia Piñón

Education Associate, Intercultural Development Research Association

Lizdelia Piñón has more than 20 years of experience in bilingual and ESL education in both K-12 as well as higher education. She has worked as a bilingual/ESL teacher, university instructor and graduate research assistant in education. Her areas of expertise include bilingual education, ESL (both K-12 and adult learning) programs and educational implementations. Growing up in Chicago, she attended as a student one of the first dual language programs from prekindergarten through eighth grade.

Silvia DeRuvo

Director of Multilingual Learners With Disabilities Services, WestEd Center for Education Systems

Silvia Lenhof DeRuvo is a nationally recognized expert with 4 decades of experience in providing special education technical assistance to teachers and leaders at the school, district, university, and state levels with an emphasis on coherent instructional practices for students with IEPs and multilingual learners with disabilities. Her work centers on training educators on using accessible, evidence-based instruction and intervention supports through an inclusive practices framework.

Sara E.N. Kangas

Associate Professor, College of Education at Lehigh University

Sean Cavanagh

Managing Editor, Education Week

Sean Cavanagh is the Managing Editor of Education Week.

For all webinars broadcast by Education Week after August 1, 2019, Certificates of Completion are available to all registered attendees who attend 53 minutes or more of this webinar. Educators can download a PDF certificate verifying 1 hour of Professional Development credit. As with all professional development hours delivered, Education Week recommends each educator verify ahead of the webinar broadcast that the content will qualify for professional development in your school, district, county, or state with your supervisor, human resources professional, and/or principal or superintendent’s office.

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How Can School Districts Better Support English Learners With Disabilities?

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