Developing Collaborative Partnerships with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families During the IEP Process

"Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) families may be hesitant or unable to advocate, and their strengths and willingness to participate may be misinterpreted by school professionals because of lack of cultural competence or maybe disregarded due to hierarchical power relations in which professional expertise is valued over familial expertise (Harry, 2008; Olivos et al., 2010). Adhering to our guiding questions for developing culturally responsive collaborative partnerships with CLD families can help to bridge this gap in the IEP process and bring about important positive outcomes for these children and their families."