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Disproportionality
The Disproportionate Representation of Racial and Ethnic Minorities in Special Education

Introduction

The disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities in special

education and the inequities in educational opportunities are among the most critical
issues faced by the U.S. public school system in the past 30 years. In general,
disproportionate representation, or disproportionality, refers to the over- or
underrepresentation 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.

A child's race and ethnicity significantly influence the child's probability of being
misidentified, misclassified, and inappropriately placed in special education
programs. Research shows the relationship between race and ethnicity and other
variables for students' placement in special education classes. Variables such as
language, poverty, assessment practices, systemic inequities, and professional
development opportunities for teachers have been cited as factors that play a role in
disproportionate representation.

A panel convened by The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) emphasized in its

report, Placing Children in Special Education: A Strategy for Equity (Heller et al.,
1982), the necessity for "improvements in special education referral, assessment,
placement procedures and instructional practices" (p.112). The NAS panel regarded
disproportionality as harmful when it results from inadequate instruction in general
education programs, inappropriate assessment practices, or ineffective special
education programs. Most recently, a second NAS panel convened and released a
report entitled, Minority Children in Special and Gifted Education (2002) to revisit the
issue of disproportionality. The report provided multiple recommendations in the
following categories: referral and eligibility determination in special education; gifted
and talented education; teacher quality; biological and early childhood risk factors;
data collection; and research and development
(http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074398/html). The 19th Annual Report to Congress
on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (1997) also cited the
disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities as a major concern for
both the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Office for Civil Rights
(OCR). OSEP and OCR identified the following major concerns about disproportionate
representation:

• Students may be misclassified or inappropriately placed.

• Placement in special education classes may be a form of discrimination.
• Students may be unserved or receive services that do not meet their needs.

The 22nd Annual Report to Congress included the following information about the
race and ethnicity of students with disabilities:
 Percentage of Students by Ethnicity
Percentage of students in Percentage of students in
general population special education population
Asian/Pacific
3.8 1.7
Islander
Black
14.8 20.2
(non-Hispanic)
Hispanic 14.2 13.2
American Indian 1.0 1.3
Caucasian (non-
66.2 63.6
Hispanic)
Although students from other racial and ethnic groups are overrepresented to some
extent, the national data from the 22nd Annual Report to Congress pinpoint the
magnitude of the problem for African American children and youth with disabilities.
Because state and regional statistics may show a different demographic picture,
school districts must examine their own data to determine the numbers of students
from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds in special education programs. In
addition to examining the numbers of these students in special education overall,
school districts should examine whether there are significant differences in the
numbers of these students who are identified in high-incidence categories such as
behavioral disorders, mild mental retardation, or learning disabilities.

The provisions of IDEA entitle every student with a disability to a free appropriate
public education (FAPE), an education in a least restrictive environment (LRE) that is
consistent with his or her educational needs, and nondiscriminatory evaluation
procedures. During the reauthorization of IDEA, Congress expressed its concerns
regarding the disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities ([IDEA]
P. L. 105-17, 1997). Congress also recognized the problems associated with
misidentification and misclassification and called for increased efforts to reduce the
associated intensification of problems. Misidentification refers to inappropriately
recognizing students from racial and ethnic minority groups as students with a
disability. Misclassification refers to inaccurately labeling students who have been
identified for special education services and therefore providing these students with
inappropriate services. For example, suppose that a Hispanic child has been classified
as mentally retarded (MR). However, the decision for the classification did not
adequately consider language differences, the student's culture or the instructional
practices. It is possible that a more accurate classification may be learning disabled.
Or the child may need only instructional supports. To ensure appropriate services,
school personnel must provide suitable assessment techniques and increase the
accuracy of the identification and placement procedures, when identifying students
with special needs. Once students and their special needs are properly identified,
special education services must provide the supports needed by students with
disabilities to reach their developmental, academic, and social outcomes that will
give them greater opportunities to return to mainstream classrooms.

Policymakers, administrators, parents, special education teachers, and other

stakeholders must take steps to ensure that appropriate referral and assessment
procedures are solidly in place and are followed by all professionals. But even with
the increased attention to disproportionality (both over and underrepresentation) in
recent years, problems persist. Despite systemic safeguards, students from racial
and ethnic minority groups continue to be referred to or misidentified in special
education or certain disability categories. These patterns in schools, districts or
states may result in a disproportionate representation of minority students in special
education.

There is a dearth of research focusing on interventions to reduce disproportionate

representation. In most cases, the problem is addressed by implementing a
prereferral intervention. A recent literature review by Schrag and Henderson (1996)
identified preferral interventions as a successful way to decrease the number of
inappropriate referrals for minority students. However, when such interventions are
not used and students are inappropriately placed, negative outcomes often result.
For example, students who are placed in special education have a higher likelihood of
obtaining a certificate instead of a diploma. They also experience lower levels of
achievement, high drop-out rates, low wages, increased teenage pregnancy, and
social isolation.

As the demographics of our nation's schools become more racially, ethnically, and
socioeconomically diverse, we must closely examine disproportionality to ensure that
we create equitable learning communities. Administrators should take a close look at
school practices that may reduce disproportionality, including prereferral
interventions, family involvement, instructional practices in general education,
personnel preparation, and professional development, to improve student outcomes
and reduce overrepresentation. As these practices are implemented appropriately
and consistently, the opportunity for all children to reach their potential may be
achieved.

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10128

Special education and gifted and talented programs were designed for children
whose educational needs are not well met in regular classrooms. From their
inceptions, these programs have had disproportionate representation of racial and
ethnic minority students. What causes this disproportion? Is it a problem?

Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education considers possible

contributors to that disparity, including early biological and environmental influences
and inequities in opportunities for preschool and K-12 education, as well as the
possibilities of bias in the referral and assessment system that leads to placement in
special programs. It examines the data on early childhood experience, on differences
in educational opportunity, and on referral and placement. The book also considers
whether disproportionate representation should be considered a problem. Do special
education programs provide valuable educational services, or do they set students
off on a path of lower educational expectations? Would students not now placed in
gifted and talented programs benefit from raised expectations, more rigorous
classes, and the gifted label, or would they suffer failure in classes for which they are
unprepared?

By examining this important problem in U.S. education and making

recommendations for early intervention and general education, as well as for
changes in referral and assessment processes, Minority Students in Special and
Gifted Education will be an indispensable resource to educators throughout the
nation, as well as to policy makers at all levels, from schools and school districts to
the state and federal governments.

http://www.indiana.edu/~safeschl/minor.html

Meeting the Mandates of IDEA 97: Minority Overrepresentation and School

Discipline

The disproportionate representation of minority students in special education has been an

important and persistent topic almost since the inception of special education1. In an
attempt to assess and remediate the problem, the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 97) mandated new state reporting requirements
concerning minority enrollment in special education and the suspension and expulsion of
students with disabilities. These new requirements make the issue of overrepresentation
and school discipline a very practical issue for state departments of education. How
should disproportionality be measured? What constitutes disproportionality? Is there
disproportionality of special education students in school discipline? When disparities in
enrollment or discipline are found, what does it mean, and how should it be remediated?

Previous studies describing disproportionality have been inconsistent in the use of

measures, both across and even within studies 2. Further, while various criteria such as a
10% or 20% cutoff, z-scores, or chi-square have been used to assess the extent of
disproportionality, it is rare that any sort of rationale is offered for the choice of criterion.

If disproportionate representation is found, the next important question becomes the

interpretation of those disparities: What are the implications when disproportionality is
shown? For instance, when evidence of minority overrepresentation in special education
service is found, it is common to blame test bias. Yet over 25 years of research on test
bias has failed to find sources of bias sufficient to account for the black-white test score
gap, or minority overrepresentation3. Finally, the discipline of students with disabilities
has become something of a political hot potato. General education administrators often
believe that IDEA 97 ties their hands on school discipline. Yet the data show that, if
anything, students with disabilities are overrepresented in school suspension4. These
broader questions of interpretation may pose some difficulty for state divisions of special
education charged with monitoring special education disproportionality:

This past year, the Indiana Education Policy Center began work with the Division of
Special Education to address questions regarding the measurement and interpretation of
data regarding minority overrepresentation in special education, and the discipline of
students with disabilities. In particular, the project attempted to develop a non-arbitrary
statistical criterion for assessing disproportionate representation that is both statistically
accurate and meaningful to policymakers. This year, the project will continue analyses of
a statewide special education data base to further address questions of how best to
measure and remediate minority overrepresentation and disciplinary disparities in special
education. First, analyses of minority disproportionality in special education begun this
past year will be replicated and extended using the most current data base. Second,
analyses will be conducted of the extent to which students with disabilities are
overrepresented in the use of school suspension and expulsion. Finally, Policy Center
staff will work with Division staff to provide a national context for interpreting
disproportionality data, and consult with the Division to develop practical
recommendations for remediation when disproportionality is found.

• Indiana Department of Education Division of Special Education

Context of Minority Disproportionality: Local Perspectives on Special Education

Referral

Documentation on the disproportionality of culturally diverse students in special

education has been extensive, yet our knowledge of what causes disproportionality and
how to address it is limited. This report describes an intensive study undertaken across 14
schools within seven Indiana school corporations to improve our understanding of the
factors which may contribute to the disproportionate referral and placement of minority
students in special education. We interviewed 66 educators-teachers, principals, schools
psychologists and special education directors-about their perspectives on the challenges
faced in urban education, the process of special education, available and needed
resources, and the specific topics of disproportionality and diversity.

• Download the Report

Disproportionality and Discipline Among Indiana's Students With Disabilities: A

Status Report

Disproportionate representation of minorities in special education has been and continues

to be a central concern for the field. Although the presence of minority overrepresentation
has been well documented, it is fair to say that the full complexity of the problem has not
yet been fully understood, nor is there a clear picture of the causes of disproportionality.
This report is the second phase of a study conducted by the Indiana Education Policy
Center for the Indiana Department of Education Division of Special Education on the
status of minority disproportionality in special education in Indiana, and on the
disciplinary provisions of IDEA 97.

• Download the Report

Minority Overrepresentation in Indiana's Special Education Programs: A Status

Report
The overrepresentation of minority children is among the most persistent and unresolved
problems in the special education. In response to this problem, the 1997 reauthorization
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 97) mandated new state
reporting requirements concerning minority enrollment in special education and the
suspension and expulsion of students with disabilities. These new requirements make the
issue of overrepresentation and school discipline a very practical issue for state
departments of education. Is there disproportionate representation of minorities in special
education in Indiana? If so, in which categories or placement? Are there measures that
will allow the Indiana Department of Education to accurately identify planning districts
exhibiting disproportionality?

To address these questions, data from Indiana’s 66 special education planning districts
from the 1998-1999 school year were analyzed, attempting to identify a set of defensible
measures of minority disproportionality. Part I of the study focused on statewide
disproportionality data, including both overall special education enrollment ant in
specific disability categories and placements. Part II focused more specifically on African
American disproportionality, using a set of validated criteria to identify districts that
show the most consistent evidence of problems with disproportionality.

• Download the Report

When is Disproportionality Discrimination?: The Color of Discipline

The two-year expulsion of seven black students in Decatur, Illinois in the fall of 2000 for
a football game brawl has brought the issue of unequal discipline to national attention.
Although the suit brought by the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Operation PUSH on behalf
of those students was turned back in federal court, inequities in the application of school
suspension and expulsion have begun to be widely documented. A series of reports since
that incident have documented the overrepresentation of African American students in
rates of office referral, school suspension and school expulsion5).

Yet the unequal treatment of African American students in school discipline is by no

means a new issue. Rates of school punishment for black students that exceed rates for
white students have been documented for over 25 years. Nor does the problem appear to
be lessening; recent research reports continue to find disparities in discipline in office
referrals, suspension, expulsion, and corporal punishment6. There can be little doubt that
African American students are in general subjected to higher rates of school suspension
and other school punishments than other students.

But does minority disproportionality represent racial discrimination? That is both the
central question, and the most difficult to answer. Some have suggested that since African
Americans are overrepresented in lower economic backgrounds, perhaps differences in
discipline are not an issue of race, but rather an issue of social or economic class. Or
perhaps black students misbehave more, forcing teachers to respond with greater rates of
disciplinary consequences. If these explanations hold up, then disproportionate rates of
school discipline probably do not represent racial discrimination or bias. On the other
hand, if these alternate hypotheses are not sufficient to explain away findings of
disproportionality, then it becomes more likely that disproportionate treatment is a sign of
some form of racial discrimination.

This spring, the Indiana Education Policy Center released a study by Dr. Russell Skiba
and his colleagues exploring possible reasons for disproportionality in school discipline.
The research won an award from Operation PUSH, the Push for Excellence Award, for its
contribution to advancing the cause of civil rights. The paper, downloadable below, and
available in hard copy from the Policy Center (see Contact Us), explores the
disproportionate discipline of African American students. How extensive is the unequal
treatment of black students in school discipline? Where does it come from? Can it be
explained away by economic status or amount of misbehavior?

• Download the Report

• Indiana University Press Release on The Color of Discipline