Transcript Disproportionality

DISPROPORTIONALITY
What is it?
And
Why Do We Care?
Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, Ph. D.
University of Colorado- Denver
Purpose
• To provide an opportunity
for practitioners to engage
in structured conversations
about disproportionality.
Outcomes
• Increase awareness of issues around
disproportionality
• Understand local and context specific issues
• Look at technical and conceptual issues
• Develop potential responses
Significant IssuesWhat do we know?
• In 1997 amendments to the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
require that all states collect and
examine data on disproportionality.
• Each State… shall provide for the collection and examination
of data to determine if significant disproportionality based on
race is occurring in the State or in the schools operated by the
Secretary of the Interior with respect to – 1) the identification of
children as children with disabilities, including the
identification of children as children with disabilities in
accordance with a particular impairment…; and 2) the
placement in particular educational settings of these children
[34 CFR -300.755 (a)].
IDEA
• The regulations implementing IDEA
further specify that in the case of
significant disproportionality, the states
must develop a plan for addressing the
problem:
• In the case of a determination of significant disproportionality with
respect to the identification of children as children with disabilities, or
the placement in particular educational settings of these children…the
Secretary of the Interior shall provide for the review and, if
appropriate, revision of the policies, procedures and practices used in
the identification or placement to ensure that the policies, procedures
and practices comply with the requirements of Part B of the Act. [34
CFR- 300.755 (b)].
What Do We Know?
• Students of color represent the
youngest and fastest growing
segment of the population.
• ( Hodgkinson, 1991/1994; Hopkins, 1997)
What Do We Know?
•
African-Americans, and in certain
circumstances, Latino and AmericanIndian students are represented in
special education in numbers greater
than their percentages in general
school population.
Recent Data Shows
• Almost 75 percent of
diagnoses of mild retardation
are linked to various
socioeconomic- related
environmental contingencies.
Recent Data Shows
• Although African-Americans represent
16 percent of elementary and
secondary enrollments, they constitute
21 percent of total enrollments in
special education programs. Poor
African American children are 1.8
times more likely to be identified by
their teacher as having mental
retardation than their White
counterparts.
( U.S. Department of Education, 1998)
Census Data
• Based on the 2000 Census
data, the United States has
approximately 275,000,000
people. Nearly 1 of every 3 of
whom will be AfricanAmerican, Hispanic, AsianAmerican and American
Indian.
Census Data
• Students of color are projected
to account for 24% of the total
school age population by 2012.
• 92 percent of teachers will be
white females.
(NCES statistics)
Census Data-Cont’d
• Half of all school children
will be non-Anglo by 2025
and half of all Americans
will be non-Anglo by 2050.
Census Data-Cont’d
• Racial lines are becoming more
blurred. At least 40% of all
Americans have had some racial
mixing in the last three
generations.
Secondary Schools in the New Millennium,
Hodgkinson, 2000
More Data
• In the 1998-1999 school year,
African-American students were
2.9 times more likely than white
students to be labeled mentally
retarded. ( Chambers, Parrish, & Harr,
2002)
More Data
• 1.8 times as likely to be
labeled emotionally disturbed
– 3 times as likely to be labeled as
having a learning disability
– Less likely to be returned to
general education once they
entered special education.
Recent Data
• The population of Native American
children who receive special
education services is one and a
half times greater at 16.8 percent
versus 11 percent for the general
population.
Recent Data
• African-Americans, especially
males who engage in certain
behaviors that represent artifacts
of their culture have been found to
be over-referred for special
education placement.
Recent Data
• Although Latino students are often not
over-represented in state and national
data, they are likely to be overrepresented in special education when
their proportion of a district’s diverse
student body increases.
Recent Data
• Children from culturally diverse
backgrounds needing special
education support often receive
low quality services.
Recent Data
• Poverty and other socioeconomic
factors affect the incidence of
disability among all ethnic groups
and across disabilities.
• The larger the educational
program, the larger the
disproportion of minority students.
Recent Data
• Asian Pacific students are
generally underrepresented in
disability categories and over
represented in gifted and talented
programs.
Recent Data
• White students are consistently
overrepresented in gifted and
talented programs and specific
learning disability categories.
What is
Disproportionality?
Disproportionate representation is
defined as “the extent to which
membership in a given group affects
the probability of being placed in a
specific special education disability
category.
( Oswald, et. al. 1999.)
What is
Disproportionality?
• The disproportionate placement of
students of a given ethnic group in special
education programs, means that the
percentage of students from that group in
such programs is disproportionately
greater than their percentage in the school
population as a whole.
Not Just
Special Education!
• Simply defined, disproportionate
representation encompasses both
“overrepresentation” in high
incidence disabilities and “under
representation” in programs for
gifted and talented. **
Does It Exist?
• The disproportionate
representation of ethnically and
linguistically diverse students in
special education programs has
been a concern for over three
decades. (Dunn, 1968; Johnson,
1969; Donovan and Cross, 2002)
Does It Exist?
Currently, African-Americans
tend to be significantly overrepresented in two special
education categories of mild
mental disabilities and
emotional/ behavioral
disabilities. ( Oswald, Continuho, Best and
Singh, 1999)
Composition Index
The “composition index”
compares the proportion of
students from a group (e.g.,
racial or linguistic) within a
disability category or special
education program with the
proportion of the same group of
students in the general school
population (Donovan & Cross,
2002).
Risk Ratio
Risk Index
The “risk index” is calculated by
dividing the number of students
from the target group (e.g.,
African American) placed in a
disability category or program
(e.g., MR) by the total number of
students in that group enrolled
in the school population.
The odds of being identified if an individual is in a
particular ethnic group.
Three Major Factors
That Contribute to
the Disparity
1. Socio-demographic issues
associated with poverty.
Three Major Factors
That Contribute to
the Disparity
2. Unequal educational
opportunities for students of
color and disadvantaged
students.
3. The special education referral
and placement process itself.
Which Groups are Impacted?
AfricanAmericans
Hispanic
Americans
Asian
Americans
Native
To Be
Determined
Americans
So What?
• Why is it a problem? Is it a
problem?
– Among the conceptual factors that
can influence disproportionate
representation are issues of race
and its definition and significance.
( Hilliard, 2001)
So What?
–Serious Implications result
from overrepresentation
• Students may be denied
access to the general
education curriculum.
• Students may receive
services that do not meet
their needs.
• Students may be
misclassified or
inappropriately labeled.
Addressing Disproportionality
• Twenty five states reported regular
review of LEA data and identification
LEA’s with racial/ethnic
disproportionality.
• Eighteen states noted that
disproportionality at the LEA level is
regularly addressed as part of the
state’s monitoring process.
Addressing Disproportionality
• Seventeen states described specific
procedures designed to address
disproportionality.
• Eleven states offer professional
development designed to improve
cultural sensitivity.
Addressing
Disproportionality
• Ten states provide technical
assistance.
• Seven states provide referral
guidelines to help reduce bias in
referral and placement.
• Six states described plans to establish
baseline data on disproportionality that
would later be used to identify LEAs
with potential problems.
Addressing
Disproportionality
• Five states have convened advisory
boards or task forced to examine
disproportionality.
• NASDSE ,2003
What do we Understand
about overrepresentation?The Numbers Game
• Discussions about overrepresentation
and its symptoms most often focus on
the gathering and analysis of numbers
and proportions of students by
ethnicity a certain disabling condition
compared to their proportions in the
general population.
Some roots of
disproportionality
• Race/Ethnicity/Language
• Systemic School Factors related to
teacher effectiveness, biased
perceptions about students
• Inadequate and inappropriate referral,
assessment and evaluation
procedures
• Biased tests
Roots
• Poverty
• Discrimination or cultural bias in
referral & assessment.
• School- based factors
• Unique factors related directly to
ethnicity
Where do we look for
causes of the problem?
• General education
• Defacto Segregation
• Race/Ethnicity/Language
• Prereferral intervention
Where do we look for
causes of the problem?
• Assessment
• Determination of eligibility
• Placement decisions
• Special education classes
Decision makers
• National
– Professional Associations Members
– Legislators
Decision makers
• State
– Standards and curriculum
– Legislators
– Child Advocates
– Schools of Education
– YOU!
Decision makers
• Local
– Administrators and Teachers
– School District Professional
Development Efforts
– Families and Community
Baby Steps/Giant Steps
“Eliminating disproportionality is an
adult issue.” Joseph Olchefske, Superintendent of Seattle
Schools.
“We must change the way we think about ability,
competence and success and encourage
schools to redefine support so that the need
to sort children is reduced.” (Testimony before
the President’s Commission, 2002)
Framework for Action
• Areas that require specific
attention:
 The creation of a diverse
multidisciplinary planning team.
 The provision of high quality
prereferral and ancillary services.
 The identification of the factors
that contribute to students’
school related difficulties.
 The use of classroom- based
assessment alternatives to
standardized testing.
• The use of a diversified curriculum.
• The use of culturally responsive
teaching strategies.
• The use of culturally appropriate
behavior management strategies.
• The creation of a respectful classroom
environment that acknowledges
diversity.
• The fostering of family participation
and communication.
• Enlisting the support of community
members and groups.
Final ActivitySmall Groups
1.
What does disproportionality look like in
your state? school district? school?
2.
What are the implications for communities,
families, students?
3.
How do contributing factors may out for
families?
4.
What are the greatest barriers that you
observe that schools, families face as their
students go through the system?
5.
If we were to focus on one thing to fix, what
would it be?