Judith Lessow-Hurley is a professor in the Elementary Education Department at San Jose State University. Her areas of expertise are bilingual and multicultural education. She works primarily with pre-service teachers, most of whom teach significant numbers of second language learners from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. Professor Lessow-Hurley has worked with professional educators across the country and internationally. Along with her expertise in the education of English language learners, she has studied religious diversity in the context of First Amendment protections for religious freedoms in a pluralist democracy. She is also the author of Meeting the Needs of… Second Language Learners (ASCD, 2002).