Disproportionate Representation of Culturally and ... - NCCRESt

Guiding Questions
What is the nature of disproportionate
representation in our nation’s schools?
What are parents’ legal rights for preventing
inappropriate placement ?
What are some resources and guidelines that
parents and students can access to help prevent
inappropriate placement?

Definition of Disproportionality
“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)

Disproportionality Calculation
Although there is some variation in the calculation
methods, the generally accepted measurement is a
Relative Risk Ratio. This is calculated by comparing one
ethnic group’s risk of being identified for a disability
with that of a comparison group (either White
students or all other students – we use White students
in our calculations):
# of students in X ethnic/racial group in Y disability category
Total # of students in X ethnic/racial group in the school population
_______________________________________________________
# of White students in Y disability category
Total # of White students in the school population

Happy Middle School
1200 students
10 ED
400 White
? ED
400 Black
? ED
400 Latino

Context of Disproportionality
• Disproportionality has been a concern for over three
decades (Dunn, 1968; Johnson, 1969; Donovan & Cross,
2002).
• African American children 2.88 times more likely to be
labeled MR and 1.92 times more likely to be labeled ED
than white children (Donovan & Cross, 2002).
• Native Americans twice as likely to be labeled ED or SLD
(Donovan & Cross, 2002).
• Although Latino students often not over-represented in
national data, variability across states, districts, and subpopulations
it is likely to change when their proportion of a
district’s diverse student body increases (Donovan & Cross,
2002; Losen & Orfield, 2002).

IDEA Regulation
The State must have in effect, consistent with the
purposes of 34 CFR Part 300 and with section 618(d)
of the Act, policies and procedures designed to
prevent the inappropriate overidentification or
disproportionate representation by race and ethnicity
of children as children with disabilities, including
children with disabilities with a particular impairment
described in 34 CFR 300.8 of the IDEA regulations.
[34 CFR 300.173] [20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(24)]

In addition to identification information,
the States must also collect and examine
data with respect to:
The placement in particular educational settings
of these children; and
The incidence, duration, and type of disciplinary
actions, including suspensions and expulsions.
[34 CFR 300.646(a)] [20 U.S.C. 1418(d)(1)]

What counts as “disproportionate”?
There is no federally-defined standard
for the level at which risk becomes
“disproportionate.”
When reporting to the U.S. Department
of Education, states’ acceptable risk ratio
limits ranged from 0.25 to 0.33 for
underrepresentation and 1.5 to 4 for
overrepresentation.

10 ED
400 White
10 ED
400 White
40 ED
400 Black
10 ED
400 White
3 ED
400 Latino
10 ED
400 White
= .025/.025 = 1 Relative Risk Ratio
= .10/.025 = 4 Relative Risk Ratio
= .0075/.025 = 0.3 Relative Risk Ratio

Changing the vision…
“Education is THE civil rights
issue of our time.”
(Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education 2008)

Important
Difference
Between IDEA
and Section 504
Office of Civil
Rights
Complaints

Resources for Parents
• www.nccrest.org
• www.urbanschools.org
• www.niusileadscape.org
• www.equityalliance@asu.edu
• Parent Briefs
• Assessment Tools
• Equity Products
• Data Maps

Parent Briefs
Practitioner Briefs explain research and its application to
specific practices, roles, or policies that impact
disproportionality.

Equity Products
• Power-Point Presentations from conferences,
workshops, and online events offer suggestions
for addressing disproportionality.
• State Profiles are research-based snapshots of
individual states’ efforts to address
disproportionality.
• On Points are written by a variety of researchers,
practitioners and family members about specific
practices that support inclusive schooling.

Moving Forward…

Guiding Questions
What is the nature of disproportionate
representation in our nation’s schools?
What are parents’ legal rights for preventing
inappropriate placement ?
What are some resources and guidelines
that parents and students can access to help
prevent inappropriate placement?