Special Education Disproportionality

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

Because of the stigma surrounding the intelligence of students in special education, many children are embarrassed when others find out about their curriculum. Oftentimes students receiving altered instruction have lower self-esteem and lower expectations for themselves because of how they are perceived. Even when they are fully mentally capable, people will treat them differently because of the circumstances in which they are educated. To most people with disabilities such as blindness, deafness, extreme dyslexia, and autism, it is offensive to be talked to like they aren’t capable of understanding- something that wouldn’t happen as much if we changed our view of what special education is and who exactly receives it.

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

Special education is a relatively new concept in education. The question is why? Although, the Federal Government required all children to attend school since 1918, this did not apply to students with disabilities. Many state laws gave school districts the ability to deny access to individuals they deem “uneducable.” The term “uneducable” varied from state to state, school to school, and even individual to individual. If students were accepted into the school, they were placed in regular classrooms with their peers with no support or in classrooms that were not appropriate to meet their needs. This started to change with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The lawsuit Brown vs the Board of Education sued to end segregation of public schools laid the ground work for Individuals with Disabilities Act. The next major impact in education was the enactment of Elementary and Secondary Act signed into effect by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The purpose of this law was to provide fair and equal access to education for all, established higher standards, and mandated funds for professional development, resources for support education programs, and parent involvement. Under this law, programs like Head Start were created and celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. Despite additional federal funds and mandatory laws, children with disabilities were unserved or underserved by public school due to loop holes with in the law. Many more lawsuit followed Brown vs

Disproportionality, in special education, is the overrepresentation or under-representation of a particular population or demographic group relative to their presence in the overall student population (Ralabate, & Klotz, 2007). There are many factors thought to contribute to disproportionality: cultural differences, lack of appropriate assessment strategies, socioeconomic status, race, and gender (Kanaitsa, 2010).

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 2004 has several different procedure and document that are to be followed when assessing individuals for a special education program. In Guiberson's (2009) research he suggests that some educators may be unprepared to work with diverse student populations. In a 200 participant survey of speech pathologist a study found that a third of the participants did not have sufficient training in multicultural issues (Guiberson, 2009). Studies have shown that students that learn in educational environment that reflect their cultural background tend to achieve more academically, which make multicultural instruction important in school with diverse populations (Ornstein & Levine, 2007). Guiberson's

Disproportionate identification of minority students in special education is a major concern in schools today. This paper describes the issues in the assessment process with minority students and how we have arrived at a situation where minorities are being misdiagnosed into special education programs. Additionally, several legal cases are mentioned which show numerous actions and rulings that have tried to correct the disproportionate identification in special education. Some of the legal cases discussed include Larry P. v Riles, Diana v. State Board of Education, and Guadalupe v. Tempe Elementary School, which all significantly impacted special education today. Additionally, the Individual with Disabilities Education Act has enforced

Students from one racial class are often discriminated in different fields of practice, especially in education. Notably, black students have been seen to suffer most based on the statistics from a survey such as that highlighted in Beratan (2008). The issue becomes critical when the group being discriminated has a special need, and the effect is that stigmatization occurs where the learners feel uncomfortable and end up not gaining from the education they are given. According to Hornby (2015), one of the key factors leading to the disproportional placement of black students in special education is the case of overrepresentation in gift and talent schools. This digest presents recommendations that can be used to eliminate disproportional placement and representation in special education.

In the United States of America, disproportionality is a growing problem in the field of education. Disproportionality is the over- or under-representation of a group of people. This over- or under-representation can be ethnically, socioeconomically, racially, based upon gender, and many more. These factors can lead to the misidentification of a student. This misidentification can lead to the inappropriate placement of the student into a special education program. Being misidentified and inappropriately placed can have a devastating impact on the student (Web). Students who experience this first-hand are restricted in the core education that they receive and are removed from their peers and placed in a more isolated setting. This has extraordinary

Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan said "The undeniable truth is that the everyday educational experience for many students of color violates the principle of equity at the heart of the American promise. It is our collective duty to change that" (Ed.gov, 2012). This was in response to the U.S. Department of Education 's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) findings reporting that minority students across the U.S. face tougher discipline, have less access to rigorous high school curricula, and are more often taught by lower-paid and less experienced teachers. This inequality has been echoed on the field of special education where ethnic and racial disproportionality has been an issue

The purpose of this research is to examine the achievement gap between whites and minorities in special education on standardized testing.

When I started reading the article, it made me feel very sad. It is hard for me to know that racism is still everywhere and is something that is affecting everyone. Education should be for everyone who needs it. Also, students with special needs should have the same right to a good education as a “normal person”, but sadly, is not the case. The first part of the article stated that there was a research made where teachers were having bias when referring students for special needs. It is hard for me to understand that people who swore to help students, are doing the opposite.

A child’s race can influence whether or not that he or she will be misidentified as needing special education. Disproportionality refers to the overrepresentation and under- representation of particular demographic groups in special education programs in relation to the overall student population (Disproportionality, 2008). Disproportionality can impact and have negative effects on a child throughout their entire education. This issue applies to various subgroups, but this paper will focus specifically on the overrepresentation of minority students, African Americans in particular. Disproportionality has been a significant issue for decades yet, many students continue to experience the effects of being misidentified in schools and labeled as a special education student due to multiple factors. This paper will address the specific factors of why minority students are being overrepresented in special education. This paper will also examine and argue what reforms could be done to minimize the issue.

When analyzing the causes of why minorities are often over placed in special education, there were several factors involved. One factor includes assumptions made about other cultures and minority groups by teachers and administrators. Teacher preparation programs are not adequately training teachers when it comes cultural diversity and differentiating teaching methods. The excessive writing of behavior referrals led to assumptions about minority students and behavior. The excessive writing of referrals often led to minority students being constantly removed from the general education curriculum and setting. School districts lacked academic interventions for minority students experiencing difficulties academically. The general education setting lacked adequate teaching resources. Also, high stakes, biased testing often labeled minority students as incapable of learning and led to retention.

Although minority students are over represented within the special education system, it may be because of several other important aspects. Black/Minority students are more likely to attend schools with less overall capital, fewer funds for curricula, inexperienced teachers, and poor teacher morale. This can cause quite a difference between minorities and their white counterparts. White students generally attend more qualified and academic-enriched schools and are more likely to be from rich neighborhoods where income is not as significant a factor. Low income plays a major role concerning black/minority students in which ends up leading