TrUDL, A Path to Full Inclusion: The Intersectional Possibilities of Translanguaging and Universal Design for Learning

Nationally, there is a rise in students who are dually classified as emergent bilinguals and students with disabilities. While conversations around disproportionality and the over-representation of emergent bilinguals in special education are important, that discourse does not address the needs of students currently classified. Overwhelmingly, educators continue to approach linguistic and disability needs as the amalgamation of two separate entities which results in segregated and/or piece-meal instructional experiences for students. In this paper, I offer an integrated pedagogical stance bringing together translanguaging practice with universal design for learning (UDL). I provide a brief overview of translanguaging as both a theory and a pedagogical practice. I also provide an overview of Universal Design for Learning. Grounded in my experiences as a bilingual special education teacher trained in UDL and a CUNY-NYSIEB team member who researched translanguaging uses in special education settings, I present the ways in which translanguaging and UDL intersect both theoretically and pedagogical, offering up possibilities for attaining greater inclusion and increased opportunities to learn for Emergent bilinguals labeled as dis/abled (EBLADs).