Misclassification of Emergent Bilinguals: Diagnostic Profiles and Policy Action for Speech-Language Pathologists

Purpose: In this clinical focus article, we illustrate the need for early identification and differentiation of emergent bilingual kindergarteners as English learners, students with developmental language disorder (DLD), both, or neither, given the intersection of different policies and practices in these populations. We discuss the importance of speech-language screening for bilinguals in kindergarten and call for state- and district-level policy changes to correctly distinguish each bilingual student's language and educational needs. Method: We evaluated the language skills of 24 kindergarten emergent Spanish–English bilinguals attending elementary schools in the greater Phoenix area. We analyzed language proficiency, language assessment, school placement, and home language questionnaires. Results: A little over half of the students (54.2%) were placed correctly based on our assessments; however, the remaining 11 students (45.8%) fell into the following three diagnostic profiles: (a) underidentification of DLD, (b) overidentification of DLD, and (c) overidentification of English learners. We illustrate these potential scenarios of misidentification and make recommendations on how changes to initial English learner identification and the early involvement of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can help avoid student misclassifications and long-term negative repercussions. Conclusion: District- and state-level policymakers should consider adding questions to their home language survey, and SLPs should advocate for early speech-language screenings for emergent bilingual kindergarteners to correctly differentiate students who may require English language programming, special education services, both, or neither. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.32609181