The State of Bilingual Special Education Research, a Quarter Way Through the twenty-first Century

Previous research in bilingual special education has called for the field to determine valid interventions, prepare bilingual special educators, and address issues of identification and disproportionality. We examined if these calls have been met through a systematic literature review of the research conducted within the past 24 years. Between May and June of 2024, we searched databases, references of literature reviews, and special issues to identify articles researching the intersections of bilingual and special education for students and their families in school settings. To be as comprehensive as possible, we included articles that address bilingual specialized academic instruction and related service provision such as speech therapy. A total of 203 articles were identified and analyzed to find patterns chronologically, in disciplines of journal publications, language use, context, and methods. Additionally, the research foci were coded and analyzed to examine the current focus within the field. Findings indicate that researchers have responded to calls to expand research in assessments and instruction of bilingual students with disabilities but have not continued to develop best practices in teacher preparation or family-school partnerships.