Meeting the Educational Needs of
Diverse Learners
DeAngela Milligan and Sarah Bardack
Objectives
Participants will:
 Better understand the importance of individualizing
service delivery to meet the needs of diverse learners
 Discuss the barriers to and learn strategies for meeting
the educational needs of diverse learners
 Identify what to look for when monitoring programs in
relation to diverse learners
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Importance of Ensuring That the Needs of Diverse
Learners Are Identified, Assessed, and Addressed
 Assessing, identifying, and meeting the unique
needs of students being served by Title I, Part D, is
a requirement for Title I, Part D, funding and
program evaluation
 Failing to identify, assess, and address the needs of
diverse learners could ultimately affect Federal
monitoring reviews
 Ensuring that diverse learners receive a highquality education is essential
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Importance of Ensuring That the Needs of Diverse
Learners Are Identified, Assessed, and Addressed
“Monitoring of programs administered by SASA is
necessary to ensure that all children have a fair,
equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a highquality education. Monitoring assesses the extent to
which States provide leadership and guidance for
local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools in
implementing policies and procedures that comply with
the statutes and regulations of Title I, Part A; Title III,
Part A; N/D; and Homeless.”
—SASA Monitoring Guide
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Title I, Part D, Laws and Regulations Regarding
the Education of Diverse Learners
 Title I, Part D, Statute
 Subpart 1: Section 1414
 Subpart 2: Sections 1423, 1424, 1425
 Subpart 3: Section 1431
 Title I, Part D, Nonregulatory Guidance
 Subpart 1: Sections B–5, E–3, G–1, and J–4
 Subpart 2: Sections N–1, O–1, O–2, and P–1
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Other Federal Laws Relevant to Diverse Learners
 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—prohibits
race, color, and national origin discrimination
 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973—
prohibits disability discrimination
 Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—
prohibits sex discrimination
 Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990—prohibits disability discrimination by public
entities
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Who Are Diverse Learners?
Diverse learners are students from different
backgrounds that include but are not limited to:
 Cultural, linguistic, and racial or ethnic minority
 Learning, emotional, or social disability
 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning
(LGBTQ or LGBT)
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One Size Will Not Fit All:
Identify, Assess, and Address
 Title I, Part D, coordinators should focus on providing
leadership and guidance to subgrantees on meeting the needs
of diverse learners by:
 Reviewing data to identify diverse learners
 Providing technical assistance (TA) to subgrantees during
monitoring to help recognize gaps in providing instruction
 Continually evaluate progress in meeting the educational needs
of diverse learners through monitoring reviews
 Subgrantees need to be able to:
 Use data to assess the educational needs of diverse learners
 Implement strategies based on individual needs
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Identifying Diverse Learners
Strategies for use by Title I, Part D, coordinators may
include:
 Using Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR) data to
identify students who are struggling academically
 Requesting that subgrantees report multiple measures of student
progress
 Communicating the importance of disaggregating program data
Strategies for use by subgrantees may include:
 Holding regular meetings with staff to discuss individual students
 Working with facility staff to coordinate with other services that
may have expertise with diverse learners (e.g., special
education, English language learning)
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Barriers to Meeting the Educational Needs of
Diverse Learners
Barriers faced by Title I, Part D, coordinators may
include:
 Inaccurate or incomplete data
 Limited time to sufficiently identify diverse learners or take
steps to address their needs
Barriers faced by subgrantees may include:
 Insufficient funding
 Low capacity regarding teaching staff or facility space
 Lack of staff awareness, antipathy, or lack of comfort with
cultural diversity on the part of staff toward these students’
needs
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Report Out: Strategies for Meeting Student’s
Educational Needs
Strategies may include:
 Using data-driven decisionmaking to improve monitoring
outcomes
 Identifying monitoring indicators that promote better
outcomes for diverse learners
 Diversity awareness training for staff that includes learning
how to identify and address students’ needs
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Resources
NDTAC Resources:
 NDTAC Data Corner: The Data Corner provides indepth information on
collecting, reporting, and analyzing Title I, Part D, data and can give you
tools to identify diverse learners and assess their educational needs.
http://www.neglecteddelinquent.org/nd/data/datacorner.asp
 NDTAC Monitoring and Compliance Web page: The Monitoring and
Compliance page contains multiple resources (such as tips sheets for
preparing for Federal monitoring), which include strategies that can be
adapted to focus on diverse learners. http://www.neglected
delinquent.org/nd/resources/library/monitoring.asp
 Upcoming NDTAC Literacy and Numeracy Toolkits: NDTAC plans to
publish literacy and numeracy toolkits in the summer that will include
strategies for direct instruction, which may be helpful for diverse
learners.
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Resources
U.S. Department of Education Resources:
 Access Center: Includes resources that focus on rigorous academic
content areas—language arts, math, and science—as well as on
instructional and learning strategies to provide instruction for students
who have disabilities. http://www.k8accesscenter.org/index.php
 Office for Civil Rights (OCR): OCR is responsible for resolving any
complaints of discrimination and also can provide TA on preventing and
addressing discrimination.
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html
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Resources
U.S. Department of Justice Resources:

Disproportionate Minority Contact Web site: The Disproportionate
Minority Contact Web site provides information and tools on how to
identify and reduce disproportionate minority representation in the
juvenile justice system. http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/dmc/index.html

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP) National Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC)
Databook: This databook may include supplemental data to help you
identify diverse learners in your facilities.
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/dmcdb/index.html
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