ABSTRACT
Historically, students who are English learners and students with disabilities have experienced inequitable schooling opportunities. These inequities are heightened when considering those individuals who are not only English learners but also have a significant cognitive disability. This particular dually classified group, while not large in number, is likely one of the most understudied and underserved school populations. Recently, researchers have begun trying to better identify these students for alternate assessment purposes. Despite more recent attention, educational research is still evolving and substantial gaps within the literature still exist. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of contemporary educational issues while simultaneously providing recommendations for future researchers to enhance effective practices for this population. We attempt to define this group, which currently has no federal definition; describe their complex language needs; advocate for the use of appropriate blended educational frameworks; advocate for the need of inclusion in research studies; and, finally, argue for increased interdisciplinary research efforts.
