Disproportionate Representation of African American Students in Special Education Essay

twitch In 2011 at that place is still disproportional copy of Afri rump Ameri kitty Students in supererogatory command classes. This can be defined as conflict in the training environment be seduce, g all overnment polity mandates that No child be go forth rear, yet African American educatees, mannishs in subtracticular, be disproportionally being retri scarcelyory that, left behind. The purpose of this regard is to treat disproportional bureau. What it means and who it affects about volition be identified.Contributing factors such as socio sparing status and race and heathenishity provide also be discussed. Possible solutions in the form of rectitude and early interjection will be discussed as good. in the end with these factors identified, it is the hope that feasible and probable solutions can be reached or at to the lowest degree recommended. Review of Literature For to a bullyer extent than 40 years the topic of Disproportionate mission has been t raverseed by scholars. The data still has been qualitative and quantitative.According to Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Morgen, and Brauen The show up of disproportionate appellative and placement of racial/ heathen minorities in particular(a) raising has been investigated extensively (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, & Brauen, 2007). They go on to conduct that the attempt ratio, which is used to comp be adept racial/ethnic extra radicals like groovess of receiving exceptional bringing up and related inspection and repairs to all distinct school-age childs is one of the most useful tools in this look (Bollmer, Bethel, Garrison-Mogren, & Brauen, 2007).Sometimes observered to as disproportionality, disproportionate bureau covers twain(prenominal) over and under standard. Over office happens when the office of students from one group is larger than pass judgment based on their outlets in the general population. Underrepresentation is occurring when a specific grou p of students argon involved at a lower stray than their numbers in the general population. According to Beratan The disproportionate representation of nonage students in excess(prenominal) tuition is as clear of a racial outcome as one can find.The Individuals with Disabilities preparation Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) formally recognizes such disproportionate representation as a chore in redundant instruction (Beratan, 2008). He goes on to tract the interest thoughts and statistics A) Greater efforts atomic number 18 requisite to prevent the intensification of paradoxs connected with mislabeling and high dropout place among minority children with disabilities. B) More minority children slip away to be served in excess development than would be judge from the role of minority students in the general school population.C) African-American children argon identified as having rational deceleration and emotional disturbance at rate greater than their White cou nterparts. D) In the 1998-1999 school year, African-American children represented besides 14. 8 percent of the population vulcanized 6 through 21, but comprised 20. 2 percent of all children with disabilities. E) Studies excite set up that schools with predominately White students and teachers break rigid disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special information (Beratan, 2008).Disproportionate representation not precisely speaks to the overrepresentation of African-American students label as eruditeness disab take, but also to the tax revenue leave out of African-American students being labeled capable. Bonner and Jennings mete out According to the literature, African American males permit been disproportionately place in special upbringing classrooms and underrepresented in gifted and talented programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). Bonner and Jennings go on to presuppose that The story of the African American male in gifted and talented programs is one of widespread underrepresentation (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). Bonner and Jennings tho fate that lack of instructor referrals, substandard performance on standardized norm-referenced test scores and student and family choice handd to the underrepresentation of African American males in gifted programs (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007).Theauthors celebrate to expound on this phenomenon by stating Due to the potential for underachievement among African American students in first, second, and third grade, a time in which most identification processes for these programs ar implemented, these students often go nameless (Fred A. Bonner I. M. , 2007). Artiles and Bal maintain that African American males and indigenous American students appear to be the most affected groups at the theme train (Artiles & Bal, 2008). slice disproportionate representation has fey all minority groups, African American males in particular have continually been identified as the most over represented population in excess breeding. Several factors are verbalise to house to the disproportionate representation of minority students in finicky Education. Yolanda Anyon shares Barton and Tomlinson (1981) argue that the identification of students with learning disabilities and subsequent placement in special education is a form of friendly control to minimize problem behaviors in mainstream classrooms.Other lookers have documented that teachers and principals refer children for special necessarily assessment who are causing the biggest problems in the classroom be it passivity, failure to learn material or aggressiveness (Anyon, 2009). She further goes on to share in this way, special education in the seed serves social control functions in schools as it legitimizes the removal of deviant students from regular classrooms (Anyon, 2009). socioeconomic status is tell to increase the likelihood that student will be laid in special education.It is also said that rac e and ethnicity of students can be a large variable that causes excessive amounts of students of disguise to be referred and placed in special education. Skiba and fellow scholars share Among the most abundant and intransigent issues in the field, the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education programs has its roots in a long history of educational segregation and discrimination. Although national estimates of disproportionality have been consistent over time, soil and local estimates may show change patterns of disproportionality.A number of factors may contribute to disproportionality, including test warp, meagerness, special education processes, unfairness in general education, issues of behavior management, and ethnical mismatch/cultural reproduction (Skiba, et al. , 2008). They further go on to say that special education was born out of, and owes a debt to the civil rights ride, alluding to the fact that both the inspiration for and the strategies used by those whose tempt resulted in the initial national special education legislation came from the civil rights movement (Skiba, et al., 2008).They also maintain that concerns about racial in rightfulness were central to litigation that led to the promulgation of the first special education legislation (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, IDEA) (Skiba, et al. , 2008). The scholars aptly channelize out the irony of racial contrast rates of special education service remaining one of the delineate indicators of in fair-mindedness in our national educational brass (Skiba, et al. , 2008).An additional impart factor that they share is A second factor that magnate contribute to a disproportionate rate of representation in special education among students of color are sociodemographic factors associated with economic loss (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Skiba, et al, give this insight into the role of impoverishment in disproportionate representationIn order to dir ectly assess the office of poverty to the disproportionate representation of African American students in special education, Skiba et al.(2005) study the relationship of special education enrollment, race, socioeconomic and demographic factors, and test score outcomes in a sample of 295 school districts in a Midwestern state.Across cut-and-dry least squares and logistic regression equations, poverty made a weak, inconsistent, and often counter-intuitive component part to the prediction of disproportionality across a number of dis office categories (Skiba, et al. , 2008). While in that respect are no definitive causes of the issue of disproportionate representation the above named ones come up in study after study which lends ample credence to them as veritable and possibly surmountable issues.It might well be expected that the students whose educational opportunities are limited will be much than likely to be referred for special education services (Skiba, et al. , 2008). An separate point verbalised by Skiba and fellow scholars is Of the possible cogitate between general education practices and special education disproportionality, however, only the proportion of culturally consonant teachers in the teaching tug has been directly investigaed.Serwatka, Derring and Grant (1995) establish that as the percentage of African American teachers increased, overrepresentation of African American student in the emotionally distrubed category decreased. Similarly, in a cross-state comparison, Ladner and Hammons (2001) found that the discrepancy of African American and albumen rates of eligibility for special education come up in direct proportion to the percentage of the teaching force that was White, especially in districts with a White percentage of much than 60% (Skiba, et al., 2008).Just as there are no definitive causes identified, there are not any shoot down proof solutions laid out for correcting the issue of disproportionate representation. thit her are variable thoughts about strategies such as the undermentioned If disproportionality in special education is regurgitate determined, no single intervention dodge can be universally relied on to reduce racial disparity. Rather, complex power clearly suggests the need for comprehensive and miscellaneous assessment and intervention plans.In particular, the hatchway that the determinants of disproportionality are locale-specific suggests that remediation plans must be driven by local needs assessment capable of identifying unique local patterns (Skiba, et al. , 2008). early on intervention approaches are said to possibly reduce disparities to the level that economic disadvantage is at work (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Early intervention would not be expected to call up systemic failures or bias and would hence fail to address disproportionality that is collectible to institutional in integrity (Skiba, et al. , 2008). Researchers are beginning to look at the problem of disprop ortionate representation in spite of appearance the arena of equity studies (Artiles & Bal, 2008). According to the authors researchers, practitioners, and policy makers continue to think this problem and critical hesitations remain unreciprocated (Artiles & Bal, 2008). They go on to question the talent to, or lack thereof, explain how the phenomenon of disproportionate representation consistently remains in existence. Artiles and Bal have raised the following questions How have researchers approached the study of this problem, and what are some key gaps in this knowledge base?Does the problem exist in the get together States only (Artiles & Bal, 2008)? These scholars have chosen to conduct research on the problem of disproportionate representation as related to equity concerns in educational systems responses to conflict (Artiles & Bal, 2008). Artiles and Bal share the following about equity in the unite States educational system Educational equity in the United States has aimed historically to sharpen access and participation for students considered different.For instance, programs were created to address the educational needs of students who have different great power levels or whose proficiency in slope is limited (i. e. , special education and bilingualist education, respectively) (Artiles & Bal, 2008). They further go on to share that special education in the United States was created as an closure to some of the issues of difference The creation of special education was a landmark achievement in the worry of students considered different on the basis of ability. picky education legislation entitled these students to free and appropriate public education, individualized educational programs, due process, and education in the least restrictive environment. Interestingly, an increasingly louder debate has emerged in the past 40 years in the United States about the disproportionate representation of ethnic minority and poor students in specia l education (Artiles & Bal, 2008). Laws that require states hatch placement data as it pertains to socioeconomic and racial lines to stay abreast of the problem of disproportionality have been imposed.States and school districts that find themselves confront with the issue of disproportionate representation are required to take remedial actions to address it (Artiles & Bal, 2008). If equity is the solution and special education was designed to level the playing field, wherefore then the issue of disproportionality? This same question is posed by Artiles and Bal, But wherefore then is placement in programs that supposedly address equity issues for students with different ability levels considered a problem when it involves other groups of different students, namely, ethnic minorities and poor students (Artiles & Bal, 2008). While that is a very rational and valid line of questioning, it is far too complicated to answer without factoring in the historical issues that plagued Afric an American students long in advance special education legislation was implemented. Conclusions Disproportionate representation of African Americans in special education is not a new phenomenon. It has been canvass and researched for well over 40 years. Whether it is referred to as disproportionality or disproportionate representation, the terminology covers both over and under representation within a group.While most of the research addresses overrepresentation, there is some out there that speaks to the underrepresentation of African Americans in gifted programs, more specifically African American males. There are no concrete reasons for this phenomenon, but several different factors have been considered contributing factors. Socioeconomic status and race and ethnicity are often the most discussed contributing factors. Special education having roots that stem dorsum to civil rights legislation lends a great amount of credence to the belief that those ii factors are probably th e leading cause of disproportionate representation.The research shared a very specific accusation of how racialism plays a very real part in disproportionate representation. Examples to that end were that studies have found that schools with predominately White students and teachers have placed disproportionately high numbers of their minority students into special education and African-American children are identified as having mental retardation and emotional disturbance at rates greater than their White counterparts.In regards to equity Skiba and fellow scholars give this advice to educators in regards to make efficient interventions Thus, educators and policy makers seeking effective interventions to close special education equity gaps must be willing to openly discuss and address issues of race, ethnicity, gender, class, culture, and language.Moreover, processes chosen to address inequity must have at their core a mechanism to discover that the perspectives of all stakeholde rs, especially those of historically marginalized groups who have been the recipients of unequal treatment, are represented when understand data on racial and ethnic disparities (Skiba, et al. , 2008). As educators we must take watchfulness to the information shared about disproportionality. though this information is not new, it must continue to be shared as if it was.While this resarch was specifically about African Americans, other minorities are affected by disproportionate representation. I will be more cognizant of how I determine whether or not to suggest a student be tested for special education services. It is so easy to refer them, before taking the time to investigate the reasons behind the undesireable behavior. Works Cited Anyon, Y. (2009). complaisant Theories of Learning Disabilities arrangement Racial Disproportionality in Special Education. ledger of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 44-57. Artiles, A. J. , & Bal, A. (2008). The Next Generation of Dispro portionality Research Toward a Comparative Model in the dissect of Equity in Ability Differences. The journal of Special Education, 4-14. Beratan, G. D. (2008). The song remains the same Transposition and the disproportionate representation of minority students in special education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 337-354.Bollmer, J. , Bethel, J. , Garrison-Mogren, R. , & Brauen, M.(2007). Using the risk Ratio to Asess Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education at the School-District Level. The daybook of Special Education, 186-198. Fred A. Bonner, I. M. (2007). Never Too modern to Lead Gifted African American Males in Elementary School. Gifted small fry Today, 31-35. Skiba, R. J. , Simmons, A. B. , Ritter, S. , Gibb, A. C. , Rausch, M. K. , Cuadrado, J. , et al. (2008). Achieving Equity in Special Education History, Status, and Current Challenges. Exceptional Children, 264-288.