Essay Minorities in Special Education

It is abundantly clear, after reading this article, that minorities students are overrepresented in special education classrooms. One point that really stuck out for me from this article was how students are placed in special programs and provided with special services because of their results on early elementary testing. “Diverse learners are more likely to be referred for additional testing and placement in special education programs because achievement tests typically do not assess literacy skills that they may have acquired outside school, and these skills often differ from the ones these children are expected to have when they enter school” (pg. 2). As educators

The special education programs in the United States have been designed to help children with special needs learn easier and fit in better with the education program. Unfortunately, many minority students get caught up in the mix and don’t get the proper attention they deserve. Furthermore, minority students are seriously over-represented in the educational programs. Many minority students are misdiagnosed and put into special education programs when in fact; they do not have a learning disability. This has become a growing problem in this country because it is seen as the easy way out. Schools all over the U.S. are doing this in order to not have to properly test and evaluate students for learning problems.

The data provided shows that an overrepresentation of minority students exists in special education. One of the main reasons for this overrepresentation has to do with the variation of studies on this topic. Differences have been noted in

The problem of disproportionate numbers of minority students in special education can be attributed to a report by Lloyd Dunn in 1968 (as cited in Skiba et al., 2008) even though discrimination was evident long before that in America. The phenomenon of disproportionality as it relates to students from minority backgrounds being placed in special education refers to the percentage of students receiving services being a higher rate than is expected or that differs significantly from other races. Skiba et al. (2008) discuss the history of various aspects of the civil rights movement as they pertain to the issue of disproportionality of students from minority backgrounds in special education, the measurement tools used to determine the need for special education, the current status of disproportionality, and what factors have contributed to the discrepancies in numbers. Finally, recommendations are offered by the authors on how the existence of disproportionality of students from a minority background can be rectified.

In 1997, the United States Department of Education stated that disproportionate representation in special education is a problem, predominately affecting African American boys. The Individuals with Disabilities

Today African Americans still continue to deal with unequal opportunities in American society. Compared to other minorities, African Americans have the highest incarceration rate in the U.S; the rate is actually double than any other minority in the United States. “African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population

Education is a very complex and evolving process. Today, teaching entails educating a diverse population according to their unique individual needs. Schools are comprised of individuals with different races, beliefs, cultures, values, languages, social statues, etc. While considering both the historical and preset-day issues, I am able to see many parallels between racial integration in schools and integration of students with disabilities.

Of all the males in state and federal prisons, 68% do not have a high school diploma (Amurao, 2013). A disproportionate number of Black male students that are enrolled in special education courses for countless reasons, however, most are for learning disabilities and behavioral issues. A study concluded in 1998 that the placement of African Americans in Special Education the schools enroll disproportionate numbers of Black males in special education. A study completed in 10 cities of disparities of White and African American males in special education and the racial composition of the teaching staff showed that there was a relationship between the number of Black male students that were placed in special education and the number of white teachers in the school system. The cities that were studied had the highest percentage of Caucasian teachers who had the highest percentage of Black students that were identified as special education (Walker,

While race has undoubtedly played a central role in shaping the employment opportunities of African Americans over the past century, recent arguments have questioned the continuing significance of race, arguing instead that other factors—such as spatial location, soft skills, social capital, or cognitive ability—can explain most or all of the contemporary racial differentials we observe (Pager 2003). The problem with discounting the significance of race is that all other things being equal (criminal record included) Black men do not fare as well as their White counterparts in the job market. The marginalization of African American men in the arena of employment remains problematic. Gaps on key economic indicators such as employment, occupational prestige, income, and job mobility persist some forty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act (Mong and Roscigno 2009). Black men are about six times more likely than whites to be sent to prison and are likewise overrepresented among released prisoners (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2004). Some evidence suggests that blacks may also pay a higher penalty for having a criminal record relative to otherwise similar whites (Pager, Western and Sugie

According to Kunjufu (2005) “could the reason for the high placement rate of African American males in special education be that African American male teachers count for only 1 percent of all teachers in public schools” (Introduction, para 4)? Kunjufu (2005) emphasized that “African American males make up only 8 percent of the public school student population but constitute almost 30 percent of the students placed in special education” (Introduction, para 7). Kunjufu (2005) added that “the field of special education was never designed to be a dumping ground for African American students, particularly males” (Introduction, para 9). The major reason for the disproportionate number of African American boys placed in special education is because of the public educational system not being culturally competent to meet the needs of this unique population (Kunjufu, 2005). There are other reasons for the disproportionate number of African American boys placed in special education programs, such as placement and testing procedures, parent and teaching training problems, economic factors, and the failure of schools to educate African American boys adequately (Herrera,

Harry, B., & Klingner, J. K. (2006). Why are so many minority students in special education?: Understanding Race & Disability in Schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

One of the leading causes of disproportionate identification in special education is the school and teachers themselves. Minority students are more likely to attend urban, inner city schools where many of the teachers are not as experienced when dealing with racially and ethnically diverse classrooms (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Thus, these low-income schools are not going to offer advanced classes or top-notch special education

There are millions of children that are passing through the United States school system every day, not all children possess the same traits, and not all children can learn at the same rate, and do not perform at the same ability. The fact that all children learn differently and some have difficulties learning in general classrooms, special education was put into place to try and take care of these issues. Special education programs were put into place to help all students with disabilities. These children range from general disabilities to more complex and severe disabilities. There has been a revolution occurring in the past several years with education systems, and special education. There have now been several laws that have been

Special Education is a topic of controversy with many advocates fighting for the justice children and adults with special needs so rightfully deserve. With laws being passed and modified so frequently, it is important that the educators being brought into the world have an extensive knowledge of the developmental needs of many different types of children. With this knowledge and their constant measures to keep up to date with the fast-moving world of education, they will be able to deliver an appropriate atmosphere that is in accordance with the law that ensures ethical practices and guidelines are always being followed.

The importance of education for all children, especially for those with disability and with limited social and economic opportunities, is indisputable. Indeed, the special education system allowed children with disability increased access to public education. Apart from that, the special education system has provided for them an effective framework for their education, and for the institutions involved to identify children with disability sooner. In turn, this promotes greater inclusion of children with disability alongside their nondisabled peers. In spite of these advances however, many obstacles remain, including delays in providing services for children with disability, as well as regulatory and