why should you care about education?...student population identified under the idea african...
TRANSCRIPT
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION?
• Racial inequities affect the efforts of any attorney, advocate or
parent.
• Disproportionality is devastating to students of color, primarily
African-American, Latino’s and Native American’s
WHAT IS DISPROPORTIONALITY IN EDUCATION? The “over- or under-representation of a given population group,
often defined by racial and ethnic backgrounds, but also defined by
socioeconomic status, national origin, English proficiency, gender,
and sexual orientation, in a specific Population Category.”
- The Elementary Middle School Technical Assistance Center
HOW CAN YOU IDENTIFY DISPROPORTIONALITY
•State level data
•Federal data
•Information from the LEA
•Information by parents, educators, or
community leaders
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, KNOW THE KEY THINGS TO LOOK FOR
•High percentages of eligibility of students of color.
•Increased pressure to provide services to students of color.
•Overly harsh disciplinary strategies (including passive aggressive
disclipine strategies).
OUTLOOK MATTERS: HAVING A SOCIAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVE
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “SOCIAL JUSTICE”?
•Addressing dynamics of oppression, privilege and “isms”
•Recognizing that our world is the product of our history.
•Engaging in the ongoing analysis of the mechanisms of oppression,
and challenging them.
•Recognizing that all groups can and do discriminate.
KEYS TO BUILDING A SOCIAL JUSTICE PERSPECTIVE
•We must acknowledge there is a problem.
•Self-reflection is a critical component.
•"This is a lifelong project and is not achieved at the completion of
an article, workshop, or conference”.
SYSTEMIC BIASES THAT PROMOTE AN IMBALANCE OF POWER AND LEAD TO DISPROPORTIONALITY
•The IEP table!
•The reimbursement model
•High stakes testing
•Institutional bias
•Systemic remedies
OUR NATIONS HISTORY WITH RACE IMPACTS RACIAL EQUITY IN SPECIAL EDUCATION TODAY
•Constitutional Implications - the equal protection clause of the
fourteenth amendment and the fifth amendment due process
clause.
•Emphasis on “color-blind” policies.
•The confusion between diversity and equity?
•Bias
THE IMPACT OF DISPROPORTIONALITY •Students who begin receiving special education tend to remain in
special education where they are likely to encounter a less
rigorous curriculum.
•Lower academic and career outcomes than their peers.
•Significantly higher high school dropout rates.
Information on the number of students ages 6 through 21 in 2013
•TOTAL POPULATION AGES 6 - 21 = 67,272,586
•TOTAL POPULATION AGES 6 THROUGH 21 SERVED
UNDER IDEA = 5,734,393
•TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION SERVED = 8.5%
PERCENTAGE OF THE APPLICABLE STUDENT POPULATION IDENTIFIED UNDER THE IDEA
African
American
, 11.4
Latino, 8.5 American
Indian, 13.3
White, 8.2
Student’s ages 6 - 21 who receive special education and are educated in the regular classroom environment for 80% of the school day.
African American
Latino
American Indian
White
52 54 56 5860
6264
66
56.5%
60.6%
61.9%
65.1%
Student’s ages 6 - 21 who receive special education and are educated in the regular classroom environment for less than 40% of the school day.
African American
Latino
American Indian
White
05
1015
20
17.6%
16.2%
11.2%
10.9%
OTHER IMPACTS OF DISPROPORTIONALITY •Disparate discipline and law enforcement involvement with
minority students.
•The school to prison pipeline.
•Other concerns.
WHICH STUDENTS ARE BEING IMPACTED?
Black or African American, (also American Indian or
Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other pacific
islander) children ages 6 through 21 are more likely
to be identified as having a disability under the IDEA
than are the children ages 6 through 21 in all other
racial/ethnic groups combined.
STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING DISPROPORTIONALITY
•Identifying possible barriers.
•Connect your client’s case to larger issues.
• Find others focused on disproportionality.
•When possible, align your case with the work of broader groups
and coalitions.
RESOURCES OSEP guidance & other technical assistance
•OSEP memorandum 07-09 “disproportionality of racial and ethnic
groups in special education”
•Data accountability center - methods for assessing racial/ethnic
disproportionality in special education - A technical assistance
guide (revised)
•Disproportionality & over-identification -
file:///C:/users/dj%20office/downloads/disproportionality%202-2-
07.Pdf
Disproportionality that is the result of inappropriate identification
• 20 U .S .C. 1416(a)(3)(c)
• 34 CFR §300 .173
• 34 CFR §300 .600(d)(3)]
Significant disproportionality identified through the collection and examination of data
• 20 u .S.C . § 1418(d)
• 34 cfr §300 .646(b)]
Required policies & procedures
• 34 cfr 300.8
• 34 cfr 300.173
• 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(24
APPLICABLE LAW
REQUIRED COLLECTION AND REVIEW OF DATA
• 34 CFR §300.646(B)(1) & 34 CFR §300.646(B)
• 20 U.S.C. 1418(D)(2)
REQUIREMENT TO DISAGGREGATE DATA ON SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION RATES BY
RACE AND ETHNICITY
• 34 CFR §300.170(A)
• 20 U.S.C. 1412(A)(22)(A)
STATES ARE REQUIRED TO MONITOR THEIR LEA'S TO EXAMINE DISPROPORTIONALITY
• 34 CFR §300.600
• 20 U.S.C. 1416(A)(3)(C)
APPLICABLE LAW
FINAL THOUGHTS…
Disproportionality in special education has had a devastating effect
on students of color, for decades this issue has not been addressed
and has led to overwhelming segregation, inferior educational
resources, and poor educational outcomes. Students of color are
counting on you to use the information you learned today to
effectuate change in your community, state and across the country.
QUESTION & ANSWER
