Meeting the Needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners

This article discusses three issues critical to meeting the individual needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. These issues include prereferral interventions, mainstreaming, and appropriate education for all culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional (CLDE) learners. The article presents one approach for addressing prereferral intervention at the district or school building level and emphasizes the need to expand training to meet needs of minority non-Hispanic students in special and mainstream classes. Each of these issues represents a recurring or emerging concern that requires continued emphasis in teacher training programs to meet the future needs of all students. The article concludes with a discussion of implications of these issues for teacher preparation.