The California Picture Ethnic Disproportionality in California’s Special Education Programs

Presented by Kimberly L. McDaniel, Ph.D.

California Department of Education 1

Presentation Overview

Policy Context California Demographics Measuring Ethnic Disproportion Statewide Actions Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 2

WHAT

Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 3

Disproportionality

“Disproportionality refers to the relationship between student representation in both general and special education.” Harry and Anderson, 1995 Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 4

Contextualizing Disproportionality in California



Federal “interest”



No Child Left Behind (NCLB)



State Accountability (KPI)



History = 2 Primary Lawsuits

(Language/Misidentification) Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 5

WHO

Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 6

Enrollment in Public Schools

California, 2003-2004 Student Representation in GE and SE 3500000 2,898,110 3000000 2500000 2000000 2,046,339 1500000 1000000 510,696 500000 81,802 0 African Americian 704,681 40,687 303,800 52,706 6,069 Asian or Pacific Islander Hispanic General Education Native American Special Education Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 249,622 White 7

Percent of Students Meeting NCLB AYP in Math California, 2002-2003 70.00

60.40

60.00

50.00

47.50

44.60

40.00

35.10

31.70

30.00

29.10

20.00

19.40

11.80

24.00

16.60

23.20

9.20

9.40

10.00

4.50

4.80

0.00

Overall African Americian Asian Filipino General Education Hispanic Native American Special Education Pacific Islander Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 21.10

White 8

Percent of Students Meeting NCLB AYP in ELA California, 2002-2003 70.00

60.00

50.00

58.20

48.60

53.50

40.00

35.90

31.40

31.00

30.00

20.00

22.70

23.20

20.00

15.60

10.00

11.00

8.30

8.30

4.00

4.50

0.00

Overall African Americian Asian Filipino General Education Hispanic Native American Special Education Pacific Islander Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 19.70

White 9

English Learners in California

 In 2002- 2003:  26% of all students in California were English learners  20% of all special education students were English learners  41% of Hispanic students receiving special education services were English learners Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 10

HOW

Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 11

Three Ways to View Concept

Risk Index Odds Ratio Composition Index

Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 12

Risk Index

Risk Index: Percent of students in a given ethnic group identified as receiving special education services Sample/Example Statement: In California, 16.01% of African American students receive special education services Overa ll 10.18

12.2

White 11.51

Nativ e Am erican Hispa nic 10.48

Asian or Pa cific I Africa slande n Am ericia r n 0 2 4 6 5.77

8 10 12 14 16 16.01

13 18

Odds Ratio

Odds Ratio: Comparative index Statement: African American students have a 48 percent greater likelihood of being assigned to special education than all students in California Overa ll 1.00

1.13

White 0.97

Nativ e Ame rican Hispa nic 0.95

Asian or Pa cific I sland er 0.53

Africa n Ame rician Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 1.20

1.40

1.48

Composition Index

Composition Index: The proportion of all children serviced in special education from the ethnic group Example/Sample statement: African American students comprise 12.00% of all special education students 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 12.00

8.11

African Am erican 44.55

6.00

11.19

As ian or Pacific Is lander 46.01

His panic 0.89

0.84

Native Am erican 36.60

32.49

White Special Education General Education Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 15

E-Formula is on the Record

E=A+Sqrt[A*(100-A) ÷ N] E= maximum percentage of enrollment allowed for a racial/ethic group A= percentage of racial/ethnic group in total school enrollment N= total number of students in special education Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 16

Action

Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 17

Quality Assurance Process

 Statewide Special Education District Review  Compliance and Educational Benefit Focus  Risk Index Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 18

(Special) Education Equity Implementation Workgroup

Primary Goal ~ Develop Work Plan Secondary Goals ~ Identify Partners ~ Education ~ Inform Research Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 19

Recommendations:

Policy and Program Direction “Reducing ethnic overrepresentation is a matter of creating a successful school environment for all students and accurately distinguishing disabilities from so-called cultural differences, political influences, and socioeconomic factors. We must realize that the causes of low academic performance and challenging behavior do not reside solely within the child or family.” -National Institute for Urban School Improvement, 2001 Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 20

Recommendations:

5 Areas with Actions #1: Focus on early intervention.

Action: Provide universal screenings for kindergarten students.

#2: Improve the quality of the pre-referral process.

Action: Implement proven pre-referral strategies.

#3 Strengthen state technical assistance capacity in the area of ethnic disproportionality in special education.

Action:Train field staff in the area of ethnic disproportionality in special education.

#4 Create cross-systems relationships to facilitate access to services beyond special education.

Action: Establish Interagency State Task Force.

#5 Pursue Scholarly Inquiry.

Action: Conduct multivariate research.

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Summary

 Statewide ethnic disproportionality data  Multiple measures  Current state efforts  Cross-systems solutions  Research role Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel 22

State of California Department of Education Special Education Division Assessment, Evaluation, and Support Unit 1430 N. Street Sacramento, CA 95814-3321 Kimberly L. McDaniel, Ph.D.

Education Programs Consultant (916) 322-3254 Fax (916) 327-3730 Tdd (916) 327-3678 [email protected]

Addressing Disproportionality in California's Special Education Programs Prepared by Dr. McDaniel

Q&A

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