School Discipline Disproportionality: American Indian Students in Special Education (PDF)

This research study examines how American Indian students are disproportionately represented in school discipline referrals and administrative outcomes across general school populations.This research study examines how American Indian students are disproportionately represented in school discipline referrals and administrative outcomes across general school populations.

Citation/Source

Whitford, Denise K. 2017. “School Discipline Disproportionality: American Indian Students in Special Education.” The Urban Review 49 (5): 693–706.

Publication Date  2024

Differential Ratings of Specific Behaviors of African Americans Children in Special Education (PDF)

This research study found that teachers gave African American students significantly higher statistical ratings for hyperactive behaviors than did the children’s mother or the children themselves.

Citation/Source

Linton, Kristen F. 2015. “Differential Ratings of Specific Behaviors of African Americans Children in Special Education.” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 32 (3): 229–235.

Publication Date  2024

Disproportionality in Special Education: A Synthesis of International Research and Trends (PDF)

This research study synthesizes literature on special education disproportionality in international contexts and identifies trends across student groups and countries, including the ways in which scholars have examined this topic. Results show that studies focused mainly on the overrepresentation of ethnic minority, immigrant, and Indigenous populations in European or English-speaking nations.

Citation/Source

Cooc, North, and Elizabeth W. Kiru. 2018. “Disproportionality in Special Education: A Synthesis of International Research and Trends.” The Journal of Special Education 52 (3): 163–173.

Publication Date  2024

Wading Through Quicksand: Making Sense of Minority Disproportionality in Identification of Emotional Disturbance (PDF)

This study examines assumptions underpinning disproportionality in the category of emotional disturbance and the implications for the meaning we make of research findings related to disparities in special education and students’ needs.

Citation/Source

Sullivan, Amanda L. 2017. “Wading Through Quicksand: Making Sense of Minority Disproportionality in Identification of Emotional Disturbance.” Behavioral Disorders 43 (1): 244–252.

Publication Date  2024

Special Education Policy and Response to Intervention: Identifying Promises and Pitfalls to Advance Social Justice for Diverse Students (PDF)

This research article provides a brief overview of special education policy within the context of changing student demographics, with a focus on disproportionate identification for special education and inappropriate educational placement for diverse students. The article additionally provides an overview of the Response to Intervention (RTI) model.

Citation/Source

Castro-Villarreal, Felicia, Victor Villarreal, and Jeremy R. Sullivan. 2016. “Special Education Policy and Response to Intervention: Identifying Promises and Pitfalls to Advance Social Justice for Diverse Students.” Contemporary School Psychology 20 (1): 10–20.

Publication Date  2024

Cultural Politics, Ideology, and Methodology in Disproportionality Research: A Rejoinder (PDF)

This research article reviews recent evidence in disproportionality research and discusses methodological issues raised in the literature.

Citation/Source

Anastasiou, Dimitris, and James M. Kauffman. 2019. “Cultural Politics, Ideology, and Methodology in Disproportionality Research: A Rejoinder.” Journal of Disability Policy Studies 30 (2): 105–110.

Publication Date  2024

Are Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Language-Minority Children Overrepresented in Special Education? (PDF)

This controversial research article argues that research does not provide empirical evidence of overrepresentation in special education for Hispanic, Asian, and Native American students. Instead, it argues that children are underidentified for special education.

Citation/Source

Morgan, Paul, George Farkas, Michael Cook, Natasha Strassfeld, Marianne Hillemeier, Wik Hung Pun, Yangyang Wang, and Deborah Schussler. 2018. “Are Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Language-Minority Children Overrepresented in Special Education?” Exceptional Children 84 (3): 261–279.

Publication Date  2024

Risks and Consequences of Oversimplifying Educational Inequities: A Response to Morgan et al. (2015) (PDF)

This technical commentary argues that Morgan et al.’s claim that there is no minority overrepresentation in special education is an error due to (a) sampling considerations, (b) inadequate support from previous and current analyses, and (c) the authors’ failure to consider the complexities of special education disproportionality.

Citation/Source

Skiba, Russel, Alfreda J. Artiles, Elizabeth B. Kozleski, Daniel J. Losen, and Elizabeth G. Harry. 2016. “Risks and Consequences of Oversimplifying Educational Inequities: A Response to Morgan et al. (2015).” Educational Researcher 45 (3): 221–225.

Publication Date  2024

Addressing Disproportionality in Special Education Using a Universal Screening Approach (Article)

This study compared students identified as at-risk to those presently receiving special education services within a nationally representative sample of 4,946 children. The study sought to address disproportionate representation at the referral stage of the identification process, particularly for those students at risk for a behavioral or emotional difficulty.

Citation/Source

Dever, Bridget, Tara Raines, Erin Dowdy, and Cody Hostutler. 2016. “Addressing Disproportionality in Special Education Using a Universal Screening Approach.” The Journal of Negro Education 85 (1): 59–71.

Publication Date  2024

An Integrative Synthesis of Literature on Disproportionality in Special Education (PDF)

This article examines the ways in which current studies analyze disproportionality through statistical methods, and compares those analyses based on the conceptualization of covariates.

Citation/Source

This article examines the ways in which current studies analyze disproportionality through statistical methods, and compares those analyses based on the conceptualization of covariates.

Publication Date  2024

The State Performance Plan Technical Assistance Project is a program of the Napa County Office of Education.

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Funding Information

California Department of Education, Special Education Division’s special project, State Performance Plan Technical Assistance Project (SPP-TAP) is funded through a contract with the Napa County Office of Education. SPP-TAP is funded from federal funds, (State Grants #H027A080116) provided from the U.S. Department of Education Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department of Education.

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