Educating Black Youth from the National Education Association

Summary

As the nation enters its third year under the leadership of its first Black president, a man so well educated, his critics have labeled him an elitist, the numbers tell us many Black male students are more likely to hit the streets than the books. In just 2010 alone, the release of three high-profile research studies generated national debate on the academic prospects of Black boys. The statistics describing Black boys as more likely than their peers to be placed in special education classes, labeled mentally retarded, suspended from school, or drop out altogether is disturbing enough. But the surprising news, at once puzzling and promising, is that we actually have tools to reverse this trajectory and success stories to prove it.

Find the full article link on:

http://www.nea.org/home/42456.htm

Legal Rights: The Overrepresentation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students in Special Education

Kevin Werner

Abstract
This article discusses the laws that protect individuals with disabilities and the laws that protect individuals from racial and language discrimination. It explains the important difference between the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504. It also describes practical application of the laws and provides two examples that will help illustrate how these legal procedures might work in reality.

PDF version:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=16892023051175742283&hl=en&as_sdt=0,48&as_vis=1

Impact of Instructional Consultation Teams on the Disproportionate Referral and Placement of Minority Students in Special Education

Remedial and Special Education

A Journal on the Hammill Institute on Disabilities

Todd A. Gravois 

Abstract

The current study investigated the impact of implementing Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams) on the disproportionate referral and placement of minority students into special education. Data were collected on referral and placement patterns of minority students in 13 IC Teams schools and 9 comparison schools. Three accepted indices of disproportionality—including risk indexes, odds ratios, and composition indexes—were calculated and analyzed for the baseline and for 2 years of project implementation. After 2 years of implementation, there were significant decreases in the risk of minority students in IC Team project schools being referred to and placed in special education when compared to nonproject schools. Moreover, the odds of minority students' being referred and placed in special education decreased by almost half in IC Team schools. Similar decreases in IC Team schools were noted when analyzing the composition indexes. The current findings also highlight the influence that quality classroom instructional practices have on the referral and placement of minority students for special education services.

To purchase the full article:

http://rse.sagepub.com/content/27/1/42.short

Disproportionate Representation of African American Students in Special Education: Acknowledging the Role of White Privilege and Racism

Abstract

This article places the problem of disproportionate representation of African American students in special education in the context of the White privilege and racism that exist in American society as a whole. The author discusses how educational resource allocation, inappropriate curriculum and pedagogy, and inadequate teacher preparation have contributed to the problem of disproportionate representation. More important, she argues that remedies designed to address the disproportionality challenge must place the aforementioned structural forces at the center of education research, policy, and practice.

To purchase full article: 

http://edr.sagepub.com/content/35/6/24.short

Office for Civil Rights

Overview of the Agency
The mission of the Office for Civil Rights is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation through vigorous enforcement of civil rights.
We serve student populations facing discrimination and the advocates and institutions promoting systemic solutions to civil rights problems.  An important responsibility is resolving complaints of discrimination. Agency-initiated cases, typically called compliance reviews, permit OCR to target resources on compliance problems that appear particularly acute. OCR also provides technical assistance to help institutions achieve voluntary compliance with the civil rights laws that OCR enforces. An important part of OCR's technical assistance are partnerships designed to develop creative approaches to preventing and addressing discrimination.

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/aboutocr.html

US Commission on Civil Rights: Minorities in Special Education

A Briefing Before the United States Commission on Civil Rights

Held in Washington, DC, December 3, 2007

On December 3, 2007, either experts briefed members of the US Commission on Civil Rights on whether blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Limited English Proficient (LEP) students are misplaced in special education programs more often as a proportion of the general education student population, than their white, Asian, or non-LEP peers; and the nature, extent, and possible causes of any misplacement. In addition, the panelists were asked to give their views on what the federal government, schools, and parents could do to address the issue.

Click below to view full briefing:

http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/MinoritiesinSpecialEducation.pdf