DUBON 1

Alicia Dubon

Writing 39C

Austin Carter

June 3, 2018

Opposing Delays in the Implementation of Significant Disproportionality in Special

Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed in 1975 with

the intention to protect students with disabilities and ensure that they receive the

education the rest of their peers are. This act is supposed to provide parents with the

proper resources and information to stand up for their children if they are being treated

unjustly in the classroom because of the identification of a learning disability. This has

shown to be effective for white, middle class, and overall more privileged families.

Because of this, students of color and low-income families have suffered with the over-

and under-

identification of

learning disabilities,

and parents feel

they cannot do

anything

about it. Students of

color are far more

Figure 1: Almost 40% of African American students
are identified with having a learning disability. likely to be identified as having

a learning disability when there is actually not present or not being identified with the one
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they do have. Students of color are likely identified with a learning disability because of

the never-ending issue of racism and prejudice – any behavior considered different than

the typical white behavior is quickly considered problematic and is easily dealt with by

assigning a learning disability to the student. Another reason is that teachers find it easier

to deal with students that are English-language learners by placing them in special

education rather than providing the attention and support that the students need to grow in

their language skills. Figures 1 and 2 demonstrate the greater population of African

American students in special education than white students. 15% more of African

American

students are

identified with a

learning

disability.

Obviously, this

data in itself is

more than enough

Figure 2: Only 24.5% of white students are identified as to demonstrate the
having a specific learning disability.
significant disproportionality that exists in the education system, specifically in special

education. There is no reason why students of color should be held accountable for

factors they cannot control when it comes to their education as well as experience

setbacks in their learning because of their race and unfair educators. Students of color are

under-identified with a learning disability because of the fact that most students of color

come from low-income environments. These neighborhoods lack the proper resources
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and tools to provide students with learning disabilities with specific teaching and support

to work with their learning disabilities. To further elaborate, Latinx students are

underrepresented because of cultural differences and preferences – some Latinx families

may choose to rely on the support of their extended family and can therefore hesitate to

have their children properly evaluated and treated for any learning disabilities they could

potentially have. With all these issues at hand, parents of color find difficulty in

questioning policies and regulations that do not fully meet the needs of their children.

When they attempt to stand up for their children, they are quickly seen as aggressive and

ignorant, resulting in them being ignored at meetings with their school districts (Felton).

Essentially, students of color continue to face discrimination and unfair representation in

the classroom and overall education system. Although white students with learning

disabilities might find it easier to receive the proper resources, tools, and guidance to aid

them in their learning, all students with learning disabilities could benefit from policies

and actions that aim to make the learning experience as pleasant and comfortable as

possible.

The call for attention and advocacy for the advancement through equity for

students of color in special education has made its way to the United States Department

of Education. Though in the hands of the United States now, attempts to minimize this

significant disproportionality have been either nonexistent or delayed. Advocates’

demands for educational advancement for students of color include regulations that

would address the significant disproportionality in special education, especially regarding

the over- and under-representation of students of color. The U.S. Department of

Education claim that their new “regulations and supporting documents provide the
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necessary guidance and support to school districts and build upon the work from public

education advocates and local leaders who believe” that the significant

disproportionalities regarding race and ethnicity in special must be addressed (U.S.

Department of Education). Advocates for the abolishment of this under- and over-

representation of students of color in have had their voice heard in the U.S. Department

of Education and brought about a rule for a common standard for identifying the said

significant disproportionality. This standard requires school districts to determine the

causes of their disproportionality and address the factors that lead to it. Additionally,

advocates recommended that the department require all the states to have a standard and

common approach to identifying students with learning disabilities. These

recommendations, regulations, and policies all seem to have great potential to be very

effective, but advocates find that there is still the lack of implementation. Further more

can be done to bring about effective results with these policies. This includes, but is not

limited to, proper media attention. With the use of the media, more people can become

advocates for this issue and work to create change and improve the experiences of

students of color in the classroom and their future endeavors.

In order to gain results in the lack of implementation of policies and regulations

toward the advancement of students of color in special education, there needs to be a

higher demand for administrative action. This means that advocates should reach out to

government officials and policy makers and determining what is needed to speed up the

implementation of current policies. Such process can be achieved through finding and

providing the essential research and evidence that the federal government chooses to

delay. The Center for Civil Rights Remedies, an advocacy group, conducts this research
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to find new problems in educational policy and “enhances the capacity of advocates” to

take direct action to press for the implementation of the policies and regulations. The

Center for Civil Rights Remedies effectively encourages its members and teaches them to

take action in the issues that affect or bother them most. With this attitude alone, there is

much progress that can be achieved because people are more likely to engage in

something with support from others. The research that the Center for Civil Rights

Remedies acquires is incredibly significant because it demonstrates to the both the

government and the public that progress and improvement to the IDEA act can be

attained through initiative. It serves as a form of encouragement to others that feel there is

nothing they can do about the significant disproportionality in special education besides

reaching out to the government and asking other to stand up as well. With that being said,

it is important that advocacy groups provide assistance and support to not only advocates

of the issue, but also to the policymakers, school officials and administrators, and the

media. Through cooperation, whether requested by policy makers or not, changes to the

IDEA act and the end of delays of new policies would become more tangible than they

would be if people did not choose to take initiative.

Another way that we can reach out to the public, especially the younger public,

can be through providing support to the media – this is imperative in the advancement of

students of color in special education. By bringing awareness of the significant

consequences of this issue, the media will be reaching out to the public’s compassion,

resulting in an increase in advocates. College students, for example, would feel a sense of

responsibility to stand up for and advocate for students of color in special education.

With the recent yet unfortunate election of Donald Trump, students – especially students
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of color – have grown more attached to issues of race, class, ethnicity, and social justice.

They have become more outspoken and comfortable in standing up for the issues that

upset them. With the proper media display, many more will become advocates for the

issue at hand; this will be reaching out to their empathetic or sympathetic sides and will

convince them to join the fight. Another characteristic that college students have is their

influence

– when

people see

how

passionate

they are

about a

topic, they

feel

Figure 3: Percentage of students by race and ethnicity that would motivated and
likely participate in some sort of protest or demonstration.
influenced to

pay attention to this issue and potentially fight with them. Having a larger number of

supporters and advocates will help bring about results not only more quickly, but more

effectively as well. Figure 3 demonstrates very well that college students of color are

more likely to participate in protests and demonstrations. And because it is the students of

color that are being negatively affected by this significant disproportionality in special

education, I have no doubt that this chart will be representative of their intention to

participate in advocacy for the issue. It is unfortunately because of the lack of media
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attention that this issue receives that many people are not talking about the significant

disproportionality in special education. Without the media, the fight to decrease the

significant disproportionality of students of color in special education will remain limited

to the few centers, organizations, and advocacy groups that already exist today.

The support and actions of the public are needed to enforce the policies and

regulations that the U.S. Department of Education created in attempts to end the

significant disproportionality in special education. Parents, students, and advocates

suggest that with the data regarding special education identification and racial and ethnic

representation states are supposed to collect, states should be able to recognize this data

and enforce “action to address systemic barriers to students’ success” (The Leadership

Conference). This law to collect data has been present for over a decade, so there is no

reason as to why the implementation has been delayed and neglected for this long. Ten

years have been more than enough time for the regulations to be enacted. Also within this

time, more policies could have been created because of trial and error with earlier

policies. The ten years have been nothing more than a major setback in the advancement

of students of color in the United States. If the states worked harder and actually gave

importance into these policies and regulations within the ten years hey have been present,

the results would have been very effective. As mentioned previously, these ten years

were also ample time for the policies to be tested and adjusted to suit the needs of the

students. But because this has not been happening, we are behind in achieving the

educational advancement of the students of color, not only regarding their over- and

under-representation in special education. By delaying even further, there will be more

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significant consequences such as confusion in students and most importantly, the lack of

academic advancement for students of color.

Attempts to improve the lives of students of color cannot be achieved solely

through fighting the implementation of current laws and policies; we must also determine

the root causes of the significant disproportionality and work to prevent further

oppression in the classroom. Self-assessment, meaning states reflecting on their policies

and data over significant disproportionality in special education, could be an effective

method in the goal to determine root causes. Through reflection, states and school

districts will be exposed to the disproportionalities present in their special education

system. As mentioned earlier, if states took the time to analyze the results of their data

regarding significant disproportionality in the classroom, a root cause could be identified.

Although it may seem unattainable initially, with the identification of this cause, parents,

students, advocates, states, and federal policy makers could work to find a solution to this

issue. By finding out why these significant disproportionalities exist, we would be able to

adjust the current policies and regulations and even determine new methods of ridding

over- and under-identification of learning disabilities in students of color. It is shown in

the IDEA Part B Regulations (regarding significant disproportionality) that if a state finds

that there is an issue of significant disproportionality present in special education, the

state “must provide for the review of policies, practices, and procedures used in

identification” of students with learning disabilities (Office of Special Education

Programs). Essentially, states are already being required to determine the root causes of

the racial and ethnic disparities present in special education. Parents and advocates ask

that this policy not be delayed any longer and that “all children who require special
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education services be appropriately identified and supported” (Press Office). This would

extend into also supporting students that have been identified with a learning disability

even though they do not have one. An active and effective policy that protects all students

of color would lead to successful advancements not only in the classroom but also in all

their endeavors.

Overall, policies and regulations that have been added to the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act have been delayed for the past ten years, resulting in

significant disproportionalities in special education. Students of color are being either

over-identified or under-identified with a learning disability, which has consequences in

both their educational and social advancements. Because of racism and prejudice that has

been present for centuries, students of color are not being allowed a fair opportunity to be

successful in their lives and change their status of low-income. Advocates of this issue

have pushed government officials and other policy makers to end the delay in the new

additions to the IDEA act, which include, state evaluations and self-assessments, relevant

research, common standards and approaches, and the identification of a root cause. With

state evaluations, states can make changes to their schools, whether it be hiring new staff

or providing assistance to schools that are lacking the proper resources to support

students of color. Advocacy groups have been assisting the government by finding and

providing the relevant research regarding significant disproportionality, which is helpful

because the United States cannot use the lack of evidence as an excuse for delaying the

policies and regulations. A common approach to identifying students with disabilities can

also be of great help to students of color, but it is difficult to ensure that all schools and

educators will be doing this ethically and properly. By determining a root cause, there can
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be an adjustment to current policies and regulations as well as the creation of new ones.

Another method of effective advocacy I mentioned is through media attention – if the

public, especially college students, were exposed to this issue enough, there would be far

more supporters. Additionally, college students are more likely to participate in protests

and demonstration, which always receive plenty of media attention. Although it may

seem impossible to attain, the delay in policies and regulations regarding students of

color in special education could be put to a stop.

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Works Cited

“Bad Graph and Some Improvement.” Bad Graph and Some Improvement by Bell-Wang,

GITHUB, bell-wang.github.io/critique-on-graph/.

“CDE Guidance on Disproportionality.” School Profile: Oxford Academy (CA Dept of

Education), California Department of Education,

www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/qa/disproguidance112011.asp.

Cichy, Bryan. “Disproportionate Representation in Special Education in Oregon 2014-

2015.” Cichy Learning Group, 1 Sept. 2015,

www.cichylearning.com/2015/08/disproportionate-representation-special-education-

oregon-2014-2015/.

“Center for Civil Rights Remedies.” Brown at 60: Great Progress, a Long Retreat and an

Uncertain Future - The Civil Rights Project at UCLA, Civil Rights Project,

civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/resources/projects/center-for-civil-rights-remedies.

“Equity in IDEA: New Disproportionality Regulations and Supports.” Ohio Department of

Education, Department of Education, education.ohio.gov/Topics/Special-

Education/Special-Education-Data-and-Funding/Equity-in-IDEA-New-

Disproportionality-Regulations.

“FACT SHEET: Equity in IDEA.” US Department of Education, US Department of Education

(ED), 12 Dec. 2016, www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-equity-idea.

Felton, Emmanuel. “Special Education's Hidden Racial Gap.” The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Nov. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/special-

education_us_5a187948e4b0649480745066.
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“Final IDEA Regulations on Disproportionality.” Center for Parent Information and Resources,

Parent Center Hub, 19 Dec. 2016, www.parentcenterhub.org/final-idea-rule-on-

disproportionality/.

Higher Education Research Institute. “College Students' Commitment to Activism, Political and

Civic Engagement Reach All-Time Highs.” UCLA Newsroom, UCLA, 10 Feb. 2016,

newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/college-students-commitment-to-activism-political-and-

civic-engagement-reach-all-time-highs.

“Letter Re: Enforcement of IDEA Provisions Regarding Significant Disproportionality.” The

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, THE LEADERSHIP

CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS, 6 Dec. 2017, civilrights.org/letter-

re-enforcement-idea-provisions-regarding-significant-disproportionality/.

Office of Special Education Programs. “SIGNIFICANT DISPROPORTIONALITY (EQUITY

IN IDEA).” ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, Mar. 2017,

sites.ed.gov/idea/files/significant-disproportionality-qa-03-08-17.pdf.