This document discusses specific learning disabilities identification (SLD ID) determination implications and considerations with distance learning and school reentry due to COVID-19.

Response to intervention (RTI) is used as a prerequisite to referring children for special education eligibility for learning disabilities (LD). RTI provides schools with a framework for helping students with learning challenges. In the United States, while the number of students receiving services through RTI has remained consistent, the overall…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a school's poverty level on oral reading fluency (ORF) reported for students identified as having a specific learning disability (SLD) versus those who have been referred for SLD assessment but were not identified as having an SLD during the special education eligibility process. The ORF…

Specific learning disability (SLD) identification and eligibility practices are evolving and sometimes contentious. This article describes the historical context and current status of the SLD definition, legislation, regulation, and case law related to the identification of students eligible for special education services. The first part traces…

Overrepresentation of Dual Language Learners (DLLs) in special education remains a problem even after 40 years of inquiry. One factor is that the U.S. federal government has neither clearly explained the definition of Specific Learning Disability (SLD) nor operationally defined it to identify children for special education services. This lack of…

The authors describe the issues that assessment specialists confront when a student referred for special education testing does not qualify for services. This article reviews some of the causes for students not meeting the eligibility requirements and concludes with recommendations to prevent as well as respond appropriately when a designation of…

Access to learning disability services in England is often governed by eligibility criteria. A semistructured questionnaire was completed by clinical psychologists in the north-west of England about service eligibility criteria and psychologists' role within the referral process to learning disability services. The survey highlighted both…

Educational research undertaken for the public good incites educators who work in under-served communities not only to highlight the educational policies and practices that lead to the further marginalization of these communities, but also to imagine ways in which such hegemony can be countered. This article focuses on an emerging challenge found…

The most salient difficulty in assessing English language learner (ELL) students who exhibit academic difficulties is identifying whether the problem is one of English proficiency or of a learning disability. In many cases, the symptoms are shared and difficult to disentangle, but obtaining a comprehensive picture of the child is vital for…

Evaluation of school records of 379 students, ages 6-12 years, referred for possible learning disability (LD) placement found that more than 80 percent of the referred students were placed in LD classes and that two-thirds of those referred scored below the severe discrepancy cutoff on the aptitude-achievement formula. (Author/DB)

Results are reported for an exploratory study of eligibility decisions made for 21 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities (LD) and no secondary disabilities who received special education support in reading. Eligibility determinations by an expert panel resulted in decisions that differed significantly from…

Five years of research findings on assessment and decision making for learning disabled (LD) students are summarized through 14 generalizations. the generalizations deal with five issues: which students to refer for psychoeducational evaluation; which students to declare eligible for LD services; how to plan specific instructional interventions…

The booklet outlines Vermont's procedures for identifying learning disabled (LD) students. Following an introduction and a review of definitions of LD, information is presented on the pre-referral process (including the composition and function of the building based support team and procedures for data collection). The eligibility process is…

The report examines current problems in assessing and identifying learning disabled students and recommends practices to solve those problems. An initial chapter reviews the reasons for misidentification of this population. Section I presents a summary of identification practices drawn from guidelines of 50 state educational agencies, the District…

Functional measures of reading, spelling, and writing were administered weekly over a 5 week period to 71 fifth grade students. Although 34 of these students had been identified as learning disabled (LD) by their schools and 37 were low achievers who had not been identified as LD, no meaningful differences had been found between their performances…