Minorities Are Disproportionately Underrepresented in Special Education

Abstract

We investigated whether and to what extent minority children attending elementary and middle schools in the U.S. are over- or under-identified as disabled and so disproportionately represented in special education. To address existing limitations in the field's knowledge base, we (a) analyzed multi-year longitudinal data, (b) used hazard modeling to estimate over-time dynamics of disability identification across five specific conditions, and (c) extensively corrected for child-, family-, and school-level potential confounding variables (e.g., child-level academic achievement and behavior, family-level socioeconomic status, school-level state location). Despite long-standing and on-going federal legislative and policy efforts to reduce minority over-representation in special education, our analyses indicated that this has not been occurring in the U.S. Instead, minority children are less likely than otherwise similar White, English-speaking children to be identified as disabled and so receive special education services. From kindergarten entry to at least the end of middle school, racial and ethnic minority children are less likely than otherwise similar White children to be identified as having (a) learning disabilities, (b) speech or language impairments, (c) intellectual disabilities, (d) health impairments, or (d) emotional disturbances. Language minority children are less likely to be identified as having (a) specific learning disabilities or (b) speech or language impairments.

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

“…Research has consistently shown persistent underachievement to be the strongest predictor of specialized needs in school (Morgan et al, ). Other literature has indicated race, socioeconomic status (SES; e.g., Donovan & Cross, ; Morgan et al, ), and sex (e.g., Coutinho & Oswald, ; Hibel, Farkas, & Morgan, ) are associated with risk of identification, though the conclusions drawn from these studies have been mixed. Some researchers have found nonsignificant effects of SES after controlling for other child and school‐level factors (Kincaid & Sullivan, ; Skiba, Poloni‐Staudinger, Simmons, Renae feggins‐Azziz, & Chung, ), whereas others primarily attribute over representation of Black children in special education to the disadvantages of poverty (Morgan et al, ).…”

Impact of Grandchild Caregiving on African American Grandparents

“…National and state-level data also indicate that ASD is the fastest growing developmental disability, resulting in long waits to obtain services (Boyle et al, 2011; Jones et al, 2016; Michigan ASD State Plan, 2012). Past research has demonstrated that a decreased awareness of ASD symptomatology can lead to underreporting and resistance to obtaining diagnostic labels for their grandchildren, which then contributes to the longer time from onset to diagnosis among African American children than among Caucasian children (Burkett et al, 2015; Jarquin et al, 2011; Morgan et al, 2015; Ratto et al, 2016). Timely recognition of a grandchild’s health problems is the first step in obtaining supportive services such as occupational therapy to improve the functional outcomes of grandchildren who may be at risk for developmental disorders.…”

“…The systematic screening of grandchildren at risk for poor developmental outcomes can enable follow-up efforts that include timely referrals of children for supportive interventions, thereby ameliorating the racial disparities within the U.S. special education system (Morgan et al, 2015; Morgan & Farkas, 2016). The effect of grandparent health on grandchild caregiving and family quality of life also deserve further investigation.…”

“…According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation (2015), African Americans also have the highest rate of child poverty—39% versus the national rate of 22%. Although children living in poverty have a higher risk of acquiring developmental disabilities, African American children are proportionately underrepresented in the special educational system, which suggests that many are not receiving supportive interventions in a timely fashion (Houtrow et al, 2014; Klinger et al, 2007; Morgan et al, 2015). Consequently, African American grandparents are likely to be caring for children at risk of poor developmental outcomes (Kelch-Oliver, 2011; Whitley & Kelley, 2008).…”

Categorical Inequality: Schools As Sorting Machines

“…For example, in the United States, students who are categorized as cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and/or physically disabled qualify for supplemental, individualized educational services under the federal Individuals with Disability Education Act. Although questions persist regarding these resources’ consequences and the role they play in practice (see Shifrer et al 2013), their intent is to provide a better educational experience than these students would otherwise experience (Morgan et al 2015). …”