There is great controversy in the field of learning disabilities (LD) regarding the establishment of criteria for LD identification. The traditional approach to LD identification is to use the IQ-discrepancy. Lyon and colleagues (2001) point out the numerous problems with such an approach, including faulty assumptions about the adequacy of an IQ score as a measure of learning potential. The use of the discrepancy formula for the identification of LD becomes even more complicated when the student in question is an English Language Learner (ELL; Silverstein & Zhang, 2007). The inappropriate norms and linguistic and cultural bias that is inherent within commonly used assessment tools makes the identification of LD very difficult for ELLs. The response-to-intervention (RTI) framework has been offered as an alternative to the traditional discrepancy approach in the identification of LD. This article discusses the issues involved when applying the RTI framework with ELLs. (Contains 4 resources.)