Multicultural and bilingual special education aims to provide equal educational opportunities to students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are at greater risk of being misidentified as having disabilities. It combines aspects of multicultural education, bilingual education, and special education. Bilingual special education programs begin with an individualized plan that incorporates a student's home language and culture to meet their academic and social needs while developing English proficiency. Challenges include identifying disabilities and giftedness in students with limited English skills and from different cultures, as assessments can be biased without proper consideration of cultural and linguistic factors.

1. Multicultural and Bilingual Special Education By Laura Acevedo