In the United States between 1986 and 1998, the number of children with limited English ability rose from 1.6 million to 9.9 million. Many of these second-language speakers of English also come from backgrounds of poverty, have parents with low levels of education, and attend schools in urban and rural areas that are plagued by limited resources, insufficient numbers of certified teachers, and poor physical structures. This position paper addresses the following questions: What is the International Reading Association's (IRA) position on second-language literacy instruction? What are some of the considerations to make when determining policy on second-language learning? What do these policy examples show about second-language literacy instruction? How should literacy instruction be given to second-language learners? and What are the recommendations of the IRA regarding second-language literacy instruction? The paper also makes recommendations to teachers, to parents, to policymakers, and to researchers. (NKA)