Are Black Children Disproportionately Overrepresented in Special Education? A Best-Evidence Synthesis

Abstract

We synthesized empirical work to evaluate whether Black children are disproportionately overrepresented in special education. We identified 22 studies that met a priori inclusion criteria including use of at least 1 covariate in the reported analyses. Evidence of overrepresentation declined markedly as the studies included one or more of 3 “best-evidence” methodological features (i.e., analyses of individual-level data, a nationally representative sample, a control for individual-level academic achievement). Among 48 coefficient estimates from studies with the strongest internal and external validity, only 1 (2.1%) indicated significant overrepresentation. This coefficient suggested a school characteristic (a high percentage of minority students) that may help explain underrepresentation. None of the remaining 47 (97.9%) regression coefficients indicated that Black children’s overrepresentation in special education was explained by misidentification based on race or ethnicity. Instead, the best evidence indicates that Black children are significantly less likely than otherwise similar White children to receive special education services.

The relationship between behavior at school entry and services received in third grade

“…Even though both ORs could be considered significantly low on average, the CIs indicated a large amount of variability between children, leading to nonsignificant results. This is consistent with previous studies that found no significant relationship between SES and special education identification after controlling for factors, such as race and academic achievement (e.g., Morgan et al, 2017;for exception, see Shifrer, Muller, & Callahan, 2011).…”

“…The results indicated the strongest predictor at school entry of a child’s need for behavior‐related services was sex, followed by teacher‐observed externalizing behavior, approaches to learning, reading achievement, and race. Overall, results align with previous research that suggests being male, having lower academic achievement, expressing externalizing behavior, and poor classroom engagement in kindergarten increase the likelihood of being identified under the specific disability category of ED (Morgan et al, ).…”

“…Research has consistently shown persistent underachievement to be the strongest predictor of specialized needs in school (Morgan et al, 2017). Other literature has indicated race, socioeconomic status (SES; e.g., Donovan & Cross, KULKARNI AND SULLIVAN | 811 2002; Morgan et al, 2015), and sex (e.g., Coutinho & Oswald, 2005;Hibel, Farkas, & Morgan, 2010) are associated with risk of identification, though the conclusions drawn from these studies have been mixed.…”

Racial Differences in Special Education Identification and Placement: Evidence Across Three States

“…Recent work by Morgan et al (2015Morgan et al ( , 2017 lends support to the prevalence hypothesis and argues that students of color are in fact underrepresented in special education. The authors used hazard modeling to estimate the probability that a child will be identified in one of five disability categories by the eighth grade.…”

“…A series of recently published research studies have questioned whether the disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic students in special education warrants federal monitoring and intervention (Morgan et al, 2015(Morgan et al, , 2017. The authors of these studies argue that, when analyses control for other factors, such as measures of social and academic skills, as well as income status, students of color are identified for special education services at lower rates than White students.…”