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May 8, 2026
Language Acquisition vs. Disability: Understanding the Difference
Thursday, May 14, from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Session Description
Accurately distinguishing between second language acquisition and disability-related needs is critical to ensuring equitable, legally compliant, and instructionally sound decision-making for multilingual learners. This session examines the linguistic, cultural, and developmental factors that influence language learning and how they may be misinterpreted as disabilities. Participants will explore the stages of language acquisition, typical cross-linguistic patterns, and key indicators that warrant further evaluation. Grounded in federal and state guidance, this session emphasizes the use of multiple data sources, culturally and linguistically responsive assessment practices, and collaborative problem-solving to prevent over- and under-identification of multilingual learners with disabilities.
Presenter
Marilyn Fairchild is a speech pathologist and clinical educator at the University of Minnesota with experience in school and clinical outpatient settings, as well as prior work teaching English as a second language at the university. For more than two decades, she has collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to provide training on interprofessional evaluation practices for multilingual learners, including co‑leading the four‑year “Dynamic Duos” workshop series for speech pathologists and interpreters. She also co‑authored a chapter on building partnerships with culturally diverse families in Family, School, and Community Partnerships for Students with Disabilities. She looks forward to connecting with participants and fostering new interprofessional collaborations.
Free Registration
Register for the May 14 workshop. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Continuing Education
One and a half contact hours will be available to individuals who attend and complete the session evaluation.
If you have any questions, please contact Billy Brooks (billy.brooks@state.mn.us).
MDE is continuing its webinar series into the 2025-26 school year to support educators in the implementation of proactive and positive evidence-based strategies and resources. This series will highlight local examples of work being done to align systems of support across the needs of diverse learners and to provide information on specific disabilities, including the voices of individuals and families within the community alongside educators and community organizations. We are excited to announce our next webinar in the series.
Description
Thursday, May 14, 2026, 3:30-4:30 p.m. with presenters Lauren Walker and Stacie Stensrud, Academic Standards, Instruction, and Assessment Division, MDE; Kelsey Black, Division of Special Education, MDE; and Nichole Voigt, River Bend Education District
This webinar will focus on the legal foundations for access to the standards for all learners and on the process of utilizing the extended benchmark process for curriculum and instructional planning. Additionally, exemplar schools will share how they meet student needs in the field and use instructional scaffolds, providing attendees with real-world examples.
Register on Zoom for Meaningful Access to Standards: Local Exemplars and the Extended Benchmark Process
Past Webinars to Review
The captioned recording of the April 2026, Special Education Directors' Forum is available. After viewing the recording, please complete the April 2026 Special Education Directors' Forum Evaluation Survey.
State agencies and Inclusion Consultants worked together to write the new Olmstead plan and its goals. The draft is now available for public review. An important next step is to get feedback about the draft plan from Minnesotans with disabilities, their supporters, and professionals. Feedback received during public comment will be shared with agency staff and Inclusion Consultants. They will work on updating the goals based on the feedback received. The Olmstead Plan will be finalized in Fall 2026.
The E1MN team played a key role in developing the employment-related goals included in the draft Olmstead Plan.
Employment Goal 1: More people with disabilities will have jobs in the community.
- This goal is about more people with disabilities having competitive, integrated employment (CIE). This goal has three different parts. Those parts are:
- People who receive services from Vocational Rehabilitation Services or State Services for the Blind (VRS/SSB)
- People who receive both Medicaid waiver services and VRS/SSB services
- Students ages 16 and up who have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
Employment Goal 2: More Veterans with disabilities will have jobs in the community.
- This goal is about increasing the number of Veterans who have service-related disabilities, participate in DEED’s Veteran Employment Services program, and get a job.
The draft Olmstead Plan is available for review, and feedback is welcome through today. Visit Spring 2026 Public Comment/Minnesota Olmstead Implementation Office to review the draft and learn how to participate. Comments can be submitted in writing, or individuals can sign up for a virtual meeting to share input. Public feedback plays an important role in shaping the final plan.
MDE will host a series of technical assistance webinars for local educational agencies (LEAs) that utilize and/or indicated use of CEIS under either Voluntary CEIS (FIN 425) or Mandatory CEIS (FIN 429).
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Recording will be available soon for CEIS Webinar 1: Fiscal and Program Requirements. Topics include CEIS/Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) state and LEA requirements, and their applicability to charter schools, education cooperatives, and traditional LEAs. Download the webinar PowerPoint for CEIS Webinar 1.
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Friday, May 29, 2026, 10-11 a.m. CEIS Webinar 3: Minnesota's Reasonable Progress Standard (for Year 3 sites). Topics include understanding Minnesota's standard for LEAs that meet the state threshold for significant disproportionality but are making reasonable progress, and understanding the criteria for meeting the scaling up of the use of an evidence-based practice to qualify for reasonable progress. Register for CEIS Webinar 3 to receive the ZoomGov meeting link.
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Monday, June 1, 2026, 10-11 a.m. CEIS Webinar 4: CEIS Program and Public Reporting Requirements. Topics include CEIS reporting requirements in the Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS) for charter schools, education cooperatives, and traditional districts. The webinar will also provide guidance for how LEAs should publicly report on the revision of those policies and practices that led to the significant disproportionality under 20 USC § 1418(d)(2)(c). Register for CEIS Webinar 4 to receive the ZoomGov meeting link.
MDE has updated our Federal Updates webpage with recent communications and resources for schools and families. We recently published a new resource, Learning Choices for Minnesota Families, for parents and caregivers. Other languages are available on the Federal Updates webpage. Please feel free to share this resource in your school communities.
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