TEACHING BILINGUAL LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES CERTIFICATE | 2025

The Certificate in Teaching Bilingual Learners with Disabilities provides post-baccalaureate students with the knowledge and skills in the Professional Standards for Teachers required by the state of Massachusetts to maintain their licensure requirements for serving ELLs with or without special education needs and students with disabilities who are not English learners.

By 2023, minority students who speak another language other than English at home will represent nearly 30% of all students enrolled in U.S. schools. Teachers need to work to ensure equitable outcomes for English language learners (ELLs) and those with disabilities.

The Teaching Bilingual/English Learners with Disabilities (ELL/SPED) Certificate fits with and extends the current graduate degree programs as most graduate students come for initial licensure, to add licensure, or to meet the state requirement to move from initial licensure to professional licensure. All these professionals will need additional hours toward any license in serving English learners and students with special education needs across all licensure areas in the state of MA.

Certificate courses that are taken for academic credit may be combined to earn advanced standing in one of Lasell's M.Ed. programs.

The ELL/SPED certificate program offers four six-week courses that result in Professional Development Points (30 PDPs/CEUs per course or 1.5 academic credits) for educators. These courses are also available for credit as an option for teachers who may wish to earn graduate credit. In this case, there are additional assessments and a different pricing structure for these students.

• Hardware: computer with speakers and a microphone (webcam is recommended but not required)
• Software: Adobe Acrobat Reader, word processing and presentation tools
• Successful completion of the Online System Check of your computer located on the login page of Canvas.lasell.edu

Dates offered: TBA

This project-based course facilitates an understanding of the integrated historical, theoretical and legal foundations of bilingual and multicultural special education. The focus is to address free and appropriate education for racially, culturally and linguistically diverse children with and without disabilities in the least restrictive environment. Participants will examine components of their system, the alignment to legal mandates, ethical practice and recommendations for addressing equity..

Dates offered: January 14 – March 4, 2025

The project-based course will address establishing prevention practices in the general education classroom that the teacher, ESL teacher, and special educator can address to support preventively bilingual English language learners. Participants will use an ecological assessment perspective of the context of the education environment, culturally responsive practices, and the connection and application of instructional strategies. Data-informed instructional practices and efficient classroom assessment including a focus on screening and progress monitoring will be addressed.

Dates offered: March 5 – April 29, 2025

This course includes the assessment of bilingual English learners in the areas of language, culture, and social- emotional development. A process for distinguishing between second language indicators and learning disabilities is studied and selected assessment tools are examined and used. Non-discriminatory report writing will be addressed.

Dates offered: January 14 – March 4, 2025

This course will address how to implement high-leverage, instructional strategies that can be used across all content areas with a focus on reading comprehension, oracy, and vocabulary. Within the context of a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework, the instruction and intervention design that capitalizes on coherence across the general education, ESL, and special education environments. A critical focus on interventions that highlight the use of active learning, such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, growth mindset, and tiered instruction of oral language development will be highlighted

Lasell's classes offer either PDP's or academic credit.

• $500 per course (30 PDPs) - MATSOL, MABE, CAPELL, RITELL member rate
• $700 per course (30 PDPs)
• $900 per course (1.5 credits)

We are happy to accommodate groups that would like to take this class or organizations that would like to be invoiced for the course. Email us at [email protected].

It's easy to register for classes and only will take a few minutes. Click on the "Tickets" button above. Press the "+" sign next to the courses you want to take and be sure to use the scroll bar to see all the options. Then click on "checkout," add your payment information and click on "submit." You will be all set to get started taking classes. Once you sign up further instructions will be sent to you on how to access the courses.

If you are taking the course for Professional Development Points (PDPs) and are a MATSOL, MABE, CAPELL, or RITELL member, please click on the "+" beside the tickets with Member to receive the $500 per course member rate.

If you would like to take the course for Professional Development Points (PDPs), please select the tickets listed as PDP ($700).

If you would like to take the course for academic credit, please click the tickets ending in Credit. ($900 per course)

Event Venue

Online