Abstract
The education of English learners (ELs) is one of the major social justice challenges confronting school psychologists and other school personnel at all levels of the United States’ public education system. ELs’ educational experience has been characterized by an absence of social justice and repeated academic failure. There is a severe shortage of educators and support personnel, including school psychologists, who have the linguistic and cultural competencies to serve ELs. School personnel are often inadequately prepared to work with ELs. This lack of training has serious implications for social justice because it puts ELs at risk for not receiving (a) an appropriate education, (b) a nondiscriminatory assessment, and (c) culturally and linguistically appropriate educational services. The authors recommend a multi-pronged approach to graduate education to address these shortcomings, including the infusion of cultural, linguistic and advocacy competencies in the curriculum and fieldwork.
