Disparate Access: The Disproportionality of African American Students with Disabilities across Educational Environments

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which the overrepresentation of African American students in more restrictive special education settings is attributable to their overrepresentation in disability categories more likely to be served in more restrictive educational environments. Within 5 disability categories (emotional disturbance, mild mental retardation, moderate mental retardation, learning disabilities, and speech and language), African American students were overrepresented in more restrictive educational environments and underrepresented in less restrictive environments relative to all other students with the same disability. Disproportionality was most evident in those disability categories served primarily in general education settings. Given the social consensus regarding inclusion, disproportionality in restrictiveness of educational environment may represent a more serious challenge than disproportionality in disability categories.

Negando igualdade de oportunidades educacionais: foco no monitoramento de habilidades na Educação Especial

“…Elas têm o infortúnio de serem educadas em classes de Educação Especial, onde as experiências acadêmicas não são comparáveis àquelas de seus colegas que estão em salas de aula regulares. Considerando que, tradicionalmente, têm sido negadas aos afroamericanos as oportunidades de se sobressair na sociedade estadunidense, sua seleção abusiva para serviços de Educação Especial parece ser a continuação da prática de tratá-los como inatamente inferiores (CONAHAN, 2003 (SKIBA, 2006). Dezesseis por cento da população da escola pública, os estudantes afroamericanos constituem 27% dos estudantes classi cados como mentalmente retardados treináveis e seriamente perturbados emocionalmente (HARRIS, 2004).…”

Punished For Being Normal! A Culturally Relevant Critique of the Deviant Behaviors of Minority Millennials

“…These discrepancies are quite disturbing, especially with regard to the quest to offer all students the opportunity for upward social mobility. Such disproportionate group membership can be traced to many other areas of the education and criminal justice systems in the United States (McKenna, 2013;Skiba, Poloni-Staudinger, Gallini, Simmons, Feggins-Azziz, 2006;Zhang, Katsiyannis, Ju, & Roberts, 2014).…”

The Relationship Between Educational Placement, Instructional Practices, and Achievement Gains of Black Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in Secondary Urban School Settings

“…Black students, in general, are underserved academically (Darling-Hammond, 2000;Townsend, 2002) and overrepresented in special education (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Black students with disabilities are further overrepresented in more restrictive educational environments (Skiba, Poloni-Staudinger, Gallini, Simmons & Feggins-Azziz, 2006). In other words, even within special education, Black students with disabilities are more likely to be served in separate settings.…”

“…The concern with placing Black students with disabilities in more restrictive, segregated settings instead of more inclusive, general education classrooms is often cited by researchers. Black students with disabilities are more likely to be underrepresented in general education settings and overrepresented in more restrictive settings (Blanchett, 2009;Skiba et al, 2006), regardless of gender or type of disability (LeRoy & Kulik, 2001). The U.S. Department of Education (2005) revealed that only 38.6% of black students with disabilities spent most of their school day in the regular classroom in comparison to 54.7% of White students.…”

“…The school district must ensure that each student with a disability has the opportunity to participate as appropriate in nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities (FLDOE, 2000 p. 6). Skiba et al (2006) investigated the extent to which the overrepresentation of Black students in more restrictive special education settings is attributable to their overrepresentation in disability categories more likely to be serviced in more restrictive educational environments. Within five disability categories (emotional disturbances, mild mental retardation, moderate mental retardation, learning disabilities, and speech/language impairments), Black students were overrepresented in more restrictive educational environments and underrepresented in less restrictive environments relative to all other students with the same disability.…”