Multiply minoritized: Science of reading for multilingual learners in an English-only state

Abstract

Policies informed by the science of reading (SOR) have gained traction in English-dominant contexts. In the United States, initial policy efforts that gave rise to SOR initiatives were dyslexia-specific, prioritizing early intervention guided by universal screening for the characteristics of dyslexia in early grades. These efforts transitioned into right-to-read policies whose stated objective was prioritizing a risk prevention model to ensure the acquisition of foundational literacy skills of all students. Yet, in English-only policy contexts, many educators wrestle with differentiating characteristics of dyslexia from the linguistic differences among multilingual learners. In this policy analysis, we triangulate policy documents at the state and district level with interviews and transcripts from data team meetings held across four schools and two districts in Tennessee. Operating from the lens of intersectionality, our analysis highlights how policy generates dilemmas for educators whose interpretation meet the needs of either multilingual students designated English learners or students with reading difficulties, but not students whose intersectional identities include both multilingualism and reading difficulties. These dilemmas limit multilingual learners’ access to early literacy intervention, lead to potential misidentification of learning disabilities, and fail to shield multilingual learners designated as English learners from grade retention.