| The variety of terms used to refer to Bilingual | | | | description that occurred over the past 50 years. |
| Paraprofessionals explains the lack of a universal | | | | Paraprofessionals became common in the 1950s, |
| definition for this job. Most definitions, however, | | | | when a shortage of certified teachers and |
| focus on the roles that paraprofessionals play, | | | | parents' efforts to develop community-based |
| namely, assisting professionals in schools (e.g., | | | | educational services for children and adults with |
| teachers, speech language pathologists, | | | | disabilities created a need to hire teacher |
| counselors) and providing services to children or | | | | assistants. At this time, paraprofessionals played |
| their parents under the supervision of certificated | | | | mainly a clerical role and performed basic routine |
| personnel. Bilingual paraprofessionals are usually | | | | and housekeeping tasks in classrooms. |
| hired to provide educational services in more than | | | | In the 1960s and 1970s, federal legislation such as |
| one language, usually English and another language; | | | | the Head Start Act; Title I, of the Elementary and |
| help students in public or private schools, either in | | | | Secondary Education Act; the Bilingual Education |
| general or special education; and assist with | | | | Act, also known as Title VII; and the Education |
| students who may or may not have disabilities. | | | | for All Handicapped Act led to the creation of |
| The National Resource Center for | | | | programs that addressed the needs of |
| Paraprofessionals (NRCP) in its seventh report, | | | | educationally and economically disadvantaged |
| The Employment and Preparation of | | | | children and their families. These programs |
| Paraeducators: The State of the Art- 2003, | | | | focused on young, low-income children in |
| highlighted the difficulties of collecting data | | | | elementary and secondary schools; children with |
| regarding the exact number of paraprofessionals | | | | limited English proficiency, now often referred to |
| working nationwide. The report estimated the | | | | as English language learners (ELLs); and children |
| number of paraprofessionals to be more than | | | | with disabilities, respectively. |
| 525,000 in the year 2000. Of that number, | | | | All of these programs provided funding for the |
| approximately 130,000 were assigned to | | | | employment and training of paraprofessionals, |
| multilingual, Title I, and other compensatory | | | | including bilingual paraprofessionals. |
| programs. | | | | Paraprofessionals hired to serve in these |
| The history of the hiring of paraprofessionals, as | | | | programs still perform clerical and monitoring |
| presented in the NRCP report, clearly reflects the | | | | tasks but also assist the teacher and other school |
| needs of personnel in the field of education and | | | | personnel in the education of children with specific |
| the changes in the paraprofessional's job | | | | reading, writing, and math needs. |