ELL Parent Perceptions on Instructional Strategies for Their Children with Disabilities. ELLs with Disabilities Report 12

English language learners (ELLs) with disabilities, especially Hmong, Latinos, and Somalis, exhibit the lowest academic performance and participation rates on statewide tests of academic achievement required by No Child Left Behind (NCLB). These challenges are even more acute for learners with disabilities among these groups and likely reflect the combined effect of limited proficiency in English and the specific disability-related characteristics with which these students may be identified. Unfortunately, ways to address the needs of English-challenged learners with disabilities have received limited attention in educational research despite recent growth in interest in this topic. The research project described in this report examines how parents were engaged to review and comment on the reading instruction of teachers working with English language learners identified with disabilities. Two related research questions were addressed: (1) What is an effective way to involve parents in school and classroom-based instructional issues? and (2) What instructionally relevant information can Latino, Hmong, and Somali parents of English language learners with disabilities provide about standards-based instructional strategies in the classroom? The methodology presented in this paper serves the dual purposes of explaining the authors' procedures and exemplifying how their procedures can be used to involve parents in examining classroom activity and informing instructional practice. Results and discussion are presented together. The following are appended: (1) Hmong Parent Interview Written in English; (2) Hmong Parent Interview Written in Hmong; and (3) Hmong Parent Interview Format.