Resources/Recursos

This Focus Bulletin provides educators with knowledge, resources, and tools to support advocacy for multilingual learners with disabilities while also guiding reflection on instructional planning and collaboration. By addressing the intersection of language and disability through an asset-based approach, we can make informed decisions and communicate strategically to positively shape the lives and educational experiences of all the students in our classrooms.

Released January 2026

This flyer outlines the legal obligations of schools and districts for equal access to education for multilingual learners with disabilities. Educators can use this flyer to support their advocacy efforts by understanding the rights of students who are multilingual learners with disabilities and the rights of their caregivers.

Released December 2025

In this WIDA webinar recording, explore instructional planning and collaborative practices designed to meet the diverse strengths and needs of multilingual learners with disabilities. Gain tools to support both language development and accessibility, along with strategies for fostering collaborative planning that brings together multiple perspectives to better understand the intersection of language and disability.

Released November 2025

Get to know Cha Kai and Miguel, two former Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) staff members, as they demonstrate some of the work they do at WCER.

Released October 2025

Learn more about Cha Kai and Miguel, two former Wisconsin Center for Education Research staff members, as they showcase some of the work that they complete at WIDA. Bonus: there are several current and former WIDA staff cameos!  

Released October 2025

This video encourages a shift to more empathetic and responsive teaching and offers advice for educators on building an inclusive environment by honoring students’ identities and personal experiences.

Released October 2025

Collaborating across disciplines is key to meeting the needs of multilingual learners with disabilities. This video explains why it’s important for teachers and specialists to work together to ensure multilingual students with disabilities receive the right support to have their unique needs met.

Released October 2025

Learn practical strategies to help multilingual learners with disabilities become more independent. This video shows how one teacher uses technology, explicit modeling, and visual aids to make lessons accessible, foster deeper learning, and connect to students' lives.

Released October 2025

Learn how one educator makes lessons more inclusive. This video explains how she used graphic organizers, technology, and visual aids to help a multilingual student with disabilities write and present a personal narrative, gaining confidence and independence.

Released October 2025

Discover how two teachers co-plan a lesson for multilingual learners with disabilities. This video shows how they adapt a museum scavenger hunt into a writing assignment and anticipate student need by planning strategies, such as using graphic organizers, sentence starters, and prompting students to make personal connections.

Released October 2025

Discover federal legislation and regulations that ensure every student, regardless of language or disability, gets a fair education. This flyer simplifies federal regulations, helping to understand schools’ responsibilities and advocate for students’ rights.

Released October 2025

Who belongs on a student support team? This handout simplifies the roles of each required member, including parents. Read it to understand each person’s vital role in creating a successful Individual Education Program for a multilingual learner with disabilities.

For more context around this handout, please visit the Supporting Multilingual Learners With Disabilities page.

Released October 2025

Building strong family-school partnerships is key to student success. This handout shows how one teacher collaborates with a student’s mother, gathering insights about her child’s strengths and needs to build a supportive and inclusive classroom.

For more context around this resource, please visit the Supporting Multilingual Learners With Disabilities page.

Released October 2025

This tool provides practical, ready-to-use strategies from the WIDA and UDL frameworks to help you create accessible and engaging lessons for multilingual learners with disabilities.

For more context around this tool, please visit the Supporting Multilingual Learners With Disabilities page.

Released October 2025

This handout provides ideas for applying the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework in your classroom. It offers strategies to help all students, including multilingual learners with disabilities, participate in meaningful and challenging learning.

For more context around this resource, please visit the Supporting Multilingual Learners With Disabilities page.

Released October 2025

Use this handout to explore student intersections of language, disability, home, community, and academics. Engage with the guiding questions collaboratively with colleagues and caregivers to inform instructional planning.

For more context around this resource, please visit the Supporting Multilingual Learners With Disabilities page.

Released October 2025

This ALTELLA Research Brief provides case examples of multilingual learners who have significant cognitive disabilities. The brief has five student examples: Sabeen (grade 1), Chung (grade 2), Chue (grade 4), Isabel (grade 6) and Luis (grade 10).

Released September 2025

This ALTELLA Research Brief defines “English learners with significant cognitive disabilities” and explores related key concepts.

Released September 2025

Use this ALTELLA Research Brief to learn about nonverbal communication, which is an important component of communication for multilingual learners with significant cognitive disabilities. The brief explores the individual cultural differences in nonverbal communication for these students.

Released September 2025

Use this ALTELLA Research Brief to plan and prepare for IEP meetings for multilingual learners with significant cognitive disabilities. The brief highlights key elements to consider, including the importance of the student’s home language and the need to build cultural responsiveness among all educators.

Released September 2025