Implementing UDL for Equitable IEP Meetings With Immigrant, Bilingual Families

Family-educator partnerships are critical for providing equitable and inclusive special education services for young children with disabilities (Turnbull et al., 2021). Despite the recognized importance and need for developing partnerships with immigrant, bilingual families, doing so can be challenging due to a variety of systemic barriers they face when navigating the United States’ educational system (e.g., language differences, differing expectations between teachers and families). In this research-to-practice paper, we assert that early childhood educators can apply the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework (CAST, 2024) and integrate it into family-professional partnerships (Turnbull et al., 2021) to prepare for and engage in meaningful, equitable partnerships throughout the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) process. This can be achieved through the implementation of UDL via the (a) multiple means of representation, (b) multiple means of action and expression, and (c) multiple means of engagement—leading to positive social and academic outcomes for young children with disabilities. UDL holds promise for early childhood educators to engage in family-professional partnerships, where immigrant, bilingual families are valued as key decision-makers and provided with appropriate support to promote meaningful partnerships and interactions (e.g., visual supports, two-way dialogue).