SPED Blog Post #4: Disproportionate Representation in Special Education Amanda Barbone

SPED Blog Post #4:  Disproportionate Representation in Special Education

Throughout my education and teaching experience I was well aware that disproportionate representation was occurring but was unaware that certain racial minority groups were being target.  When I was going through elementary and middle school, I could remember students being pulled out for tests, as well as other teachers coming into the classroom.  Not knowing back then that those students were the students with special needs and the Intervention Specialists were the ones assisting those students to help them succeed in the regular education classroom.  Throughout my college education starting in fall of 2004, when the provisions of IDEA were made, it was mandated to help general education teachers.  Looking back at my education and learning about the special education laws, I really felt that in 2004 the law was really trying to make a clear of misconceptions and make it clear of services need to be provided to students receiving special education.

Now looking at the issue of disproportionate in the view of an Intervention Specialist, it means a whole new thing.  Stated in Education for All, page 137 that in the case of Diana vs. California State Board of Education (1970) fought for the rights of those students that spoke Spanish not be evaluated in English.  Looking back on a teaching position I had a few years back, I had a student that was born in Peurto Rico and students with English, was evaluating in English for her Evaluation Team Report and due to her lack of skills and knowledge of the language she had scored in the Learning Disability range. 

In my professional judgment some solutions to the problem of disproportionate and from an Intervention Specialist point of view, to make a plan, be consise and give it time.  Many general education teachers, jump the gun of wanting students tested for special education services, when it may be as simple as the delivery of instruction.  I feel this is due to the lack of knowledge the general education teacher has about making those accommodations to meet student needs, and the extra time it takes to plan for those.  I feel that if general education teachers, plan, implement and give interventions plenty of time to be shown over time the progress or lack of progress was made that the numbers of disproportionate may be decreased.

          Our attention needs to be focused on educating, offering support and services available to teachers of all services.  If general education teachers, Intervention Specialist and even specialist were more aware of how to accommodate student’s needs, and given the time and resources I don’t think it would be as scary to them.  I have seen first-hand teachers being bombarded with an overflow of things to do and do not want anything to do with the fact of trying and carrying out new interventions and plan of actions for only a few students.  Many veteran teachers do not like change and rather stick to their routine and what they are comfortable with.

Blog #4 Disproportionate Representation in Special Education--Corey Creamer

            While reading a magazine, I read an article that stated we see ourselves twenty percent less attractive then we really are. People that see us in our daily lives, tend to view us twenty percent more attractive than we actually are. Thinking back to what I mentioned previously, we all look in the mirror and see things we want to improve. The same could be said for the education we provide to children, and the education we want our children to obtain. Speaking on the field of special education, we often see many things we want to change whether we are veteran teachers or are new to the field.

                One of the common misfortunes we see in the area of special education is disproportionate representation in special education. This means that many minority groups are commonly over represented in our field. “Education for All” (Jimenez and Graf 2008) pages 131-132 stated too often we see that African Americans, Native Americans, and Asians are disproportionately represented in special education. The most commons reasons for this overrepresentation are due to behavior and poor academic performance. The lack of academic achievement is often noticed is the subject area of reading. “Education for All” (Jimenez and Graf 2008) page 162 stated that “Students who feel alienated from the educational process are more likely to engage in behaviors resulting in suspension and exhibit low achievement.” Many teachers have a short fuse for classroom issues, especially when it is a behavioral issue.  Unfortunately, many of us can quickly thing of teachers from our past, or our current co-workers, and think of at least a few teachers who only want to teach the “best students.”

We see students that may have a behavioral issue small or large, or poor academic achievements immediately recommended to special education services by certain teachers who only want the ideal students. Frequently, we see that students of the minority groups mentioned above, as well as other groups not mentioned, enter school lacking certain social or academic skills. This is by no means at the fault of the student; a student is often considered a product of his/her environment. It is extremely unfair and unjust that students are often requested to be tested for special education services by teachers when no disability is present, and the teacher just wants a specific student removed from his/her class.

Fortunately, the special education community is taking steps in the right direction of improving disproportionate representation in our classrooms. The first recommendation is as a society we need to invest more in our teachers. We should have more in depth training for teachers to help distinguish a disability from possible cultural differences. As educators we need to review our practices as teachers, identify practices that lead to student difficulties and amend or abolish those practices.

Another major solution is improving our relationship as schools with parents.  Based on my own personal experience, many parents seem reluctant to meet with me as a special education teacher because they feel I am only going to say negative things about their student. The parents state that in previous experiences in meetings with teachers, the teachers had a majority of only negative things to say about the parent’s child.  Our job as a teacher is to motivate and inspire. We can quickly think back to a teacher we had in school that was negative and possibly put us or our classmates down. Many of us vowed that when we became teachers we would not be like that negative teacher…….. We must help our students see their potential and obtain it. 

Blog #4 Christina Neeley: Disproportionate Representation in Special Education

Disproportionate Representation in Special Education  

     I was aware that disproportionate representation existed, however, I was unaware that racial and ethical minorities as well as culturally and linguistically diverse students were the targets.  When I was in school the kids that were pulled out for special education were mainly white boys, with a few little girls.  The only time that I would see special education students was in lunch and specials.  I feel that framework from IDEA and the provisions made in 2004 began to clear up some misconceptions about special education as well as identifying and servicing the needs of students with disabilities.  It also ensured that students with exceptional needs would be educated in the Least Restrictive Environment while the regular teacher would provide modifications in lesson planning to address the needs of the students IEP.  The Due Process component makes schools and parents accountable to each other for carrying out the student’s IDEA rights.  IDEA is only a small part of closing the gap on misclassification of minority students.  Despite the strides that have been made, this issue is far from being resolved.

     In my professional opinion I believe that administrators and general education teachers are still not completely on board.  In my experiences I’ve seen some of my former colleagues try to either make no modifications/accommodations or constantly send the student to the office for behavior problems.  I also feel that behavior stems from the student not being able to adequately perform the task that is laid in front of them.  Therefore, if the work is too difficult and no accommodations are made, the child is going to begin acting up to cover up his lack of understanding of the assignment.  “Effective teachers of minority students think critically about the purpose of teaching and the values and beliefs embedded in the profession and make thoughtful and theoretically sound choices about when it is appropriate to apply them, modify them or throw them out”(p.155 Education for all).

     Another misconception that our administrators make is assuming that many students with low SES need to have services.  The framework for IDEA changed the way that students are evaluated for the exceptional learning program.  According to Education for All, Table 5.1 explains disability categories by race.  In 2001-2002 whites were among the third highest groups with disability, while blacks were among the highest with disabilities. 

     One way to better address this critical issue is to follow the RTI model, which provides an alternative way of conceptualizing how we support student learning.  I believe that it will help remove some of those stigmas that used to be placed on special education students.  This instruction is taught in the LRE with ongoing monitoring of student progress.  The regular education teacher works with the intervention specialist to provide support to students that are not progressing.  After that they will be evaluated for the possible placement into the special education program. 

     I believe that some of our attention needs to be focused on the teachers that work in urban and diverse communities where the children are the most at risk.  These teachers need to be taught how to provide instruction that not only connects to the learner, it has to be meaningful to their environment and their experiences.  These teachers really need to know where their students come from and figure out what intrinsic factors may motivate them to learn.

     The fight for equality for exceptional learners is moving in the right direction. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to bring fairness in learning back to the classroom.  The classroom needs to be the LRE for all learners to blossom into the learner that inside of them.  Everyone can help contribute to making our exceptional learners have remarkable learning experiences.

Blog Post #4 - Disproportionate Representation in Special Education. What Are Some Promising Solutions? - Dr MKDove

Blog Post #4 - Disproportionate Representation in Special Education. 

What Are Some Promising Solutions? - DrMKDove

SPED Blog Post #4:  Disproportionate Representation in Special Education.  What Are Some Promising Solutions? 

The disproportionately high representation of racial and ethnic minorities as well as culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education classrooms is a problem that has plagued educators for more than thirty-five years.  Unfortunately, the debate over disproportionate representation, inappropriate placement, and misclassification of minority pupils is far from being resolved.  What are some solutions, in your professional judgment that could be used to better address this critical issue?  Where does our attention need to be focused?

Participate:  SPED 6900 Blog first entry on or before Wednesday, 10/16/13 – 5 P.M. [EST] and make two additional entries to other candidates on or before Friday, 10/18/13 - 5 P.M. [EST].

Make sure for your Module 4 response to the Discussion Board/SPED 6900 Blog that you connect your initial post to course readings, course materials, and professional and/or field experiences.  Rubric is posted on the SPED 6900 Wiki Navigation Bar - Rubrics.  

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Blog #3: Inclusion Debate

               I agree with our text Education For All, that “special education gave general educators permission to ignore students whose behavior and academic abilities made them more challenging to teach” (p.78).  ELN students were pushed to the side in hopes that someone else would take care of their needs.  I think educators didn’t challenge these students and I still think that’s a struggle today.  Watching the videos for this module really reminded me how differing our views can be on inclusion. There are so many different sides: parents, children, educators, etc and if we want to make this work it (inclusion) “takes commitment” (Are You Happy- youtube video). 

                American Federation of Teachers say that “when inclusion efforts fail, it is frequently due to ‘a lack of appropriate training for teachers in mainstream classrooms, ignorance about inclusion among senior-level administrators, and a general lack of funding for resources and training” (http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues43/concerns.html).

               If we are going to do inclusion, then I think education as a whole needs to reexamine what it’s doing.  For so long we relied on the special education department to be able to help these teachers, and unfortunately that is not happening due to varying reasons.  For now, expectations for ELN students are to be a part of the general education setting and “to keep up” with their peers all while receiving accommodations.  

               The school that I have been blessed to work at for the past 5 years is a school specially designed for students with learning disabilities.  Students have varying disabilities such as ADD/ADHD, receptive/expressive language delays, lack of fine/gross motor skills, etc.  My students are those who have “fallen between the cracks” so to speak.  They have been pushed through a system trying to keep them academically challenged.  A system of high stakes tests, grades, pass/fail mentality, one size fits all, etc. 

Parents come crying (literally) to administrators at our school because their child (in the general education setting) takes 3 hours to do homework that should take 20 minutes or that their child can’t keep up with their peers.  The parent/child relationship is hurting.  I read reports from teachers stating that these children have behavior problems in the classroom and parents would agree that they carry over to home.  Many are medicated just to be able to stay seated in the classroom or to be able to coexist with their classmates.    

               Then, I get the opportunity to work with these students firsthand and see many of these issues go away.  When the pressures are taken off, the students feel more comfortable being themselves, they don’t feel that they have to compete anymore, they can learn at their own pace, and they can feel successful.  To me, having educational options is so crucial to the well-being of our society. 

               I believe that every parent should have the right to choose what works best educationally, socially, emotionally, physically for his/her child.  I believe if your child can be successful in an inclusion environment then you should do that.  If your child comes home crying every day because they cannot keep up in class, or homework is taking hours, or they are not receiving the services they should be, then you should go elsewhere.  As the video Including Samuel stated, “When we do it poorly, we reinforce that this cannot work” referring to inclusion.  I believe that my school exists because some schools have been doing it poorly

               If we really believe in the least restrictive environment, which can be a variety of placements (Education For All, pg.75), we need to have varying educational opportunities.  I think it’s crucial for a child to be in the least restrictive environment more now than ever before.  I have seen students come to our school grades behind their peers, low confidence, anxiety driven, and coping with their stress by acting out: seemingly “a lost cause” in the general education setting; turn out to be amazing kids who rise to appropriate expectations, are motivated, confident and ready to take on the world!  

SPED Blog Post 3 - Inclusion, a Contemporary Challenge - What is your Perspective? - Raymond Marks

We are aware that everyone learns in different ways – Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences is taught to future teachers across the country - but we seem to have difficulty integrating that knowledge in the classroom as it relates to students with disabilities. Great strides have been made in the inclusion of special needs students in the schools, as evidenced by the laws we have enacted, notably PL 94-142 and IDEA. These laws have enabled more and more children to be educated with their peers as much as is possible but there seems to still be resistance to inclusion in schools. One way this resistance presents itself is illustrated in the film “Including Samuel,” presented by Pinehurst Pictures. Describing her experience with Inclusion, Carol King, a teacher at Pembroke Academy, says to us “How am I going to reach the valedictorian and reach Alana (an inclusion student) at the same time? I'm not even sure if I reached the middle of the road this year.” Many non-Special Education teachers feel untrained and perhaps even unsupported in the inclusion classroom, and this can manifest itself as frustration and resistance to inclusion in the classroom.

My experience, as I have mentioned in previous posts, has been somewhat different. Because of the relationship between providers (administration and teachers) and stakeholders (parents and students), many of the support issues are minimized: because we are a small, tightly-knit community, we are involved in each others' lives - enrollment is more or less generational, and many of our students are inter-related, so a child with a disability is fairly well-known to many in the school community. Students in the classroom know each other (mostly) by name, not as "that autistic kid," or "that kid that acts funny." Students are encouraged to participate in the life of the school, to the best of their ability, whatever that ability might be, including extracurricular activities such as sports. As an example, as the Head Coach of the Boys' Lacrosse team, I give everyone the opportunity to try out for the team. This is not as difficult as it sounds: since there is no feeder system for lacrosse in this area, all new potential players come to the game with the same skill level. Some are more athletic than others, but all are new to the game. Last year, we had a student with musculo-skeletal problems try out. He could not run as fast as the other boys, and he had some difficulty at first with the mechanics of the game. After meeting with his parents and discussing our individual concerns, he became a part of the team. During practice, the other players would encourage him and also would run with him, even after their own reps were done. He played most every game in the season, and was an integral member of the defense on our JV team. I anticipate he will advance to varsity, as long as he maintains the gains he's made. In addition, I can look at just about any of our activities and find students who are identified as special needs, from sports to band to speech, all students are encouraged, and many participate.


Our school has only recently had special education specialists inside the walls of the school. There are many new programs implemented in the school this year designed to enhance inclusion, and while the administration is doing its best to get us the training we need, formal inclusion is still a work in progress. Before this year, students with IEPs would take tests and supplemental instruction in a trailer installed outside of the school building in order to receive additional instruction. Now, we have special education teachers who come into the classroom to help students in situ, which can create some friction with teachers who might not be used to team teaching. New items, such as Mastery percentages, confuse teachers and can further frustrate them.

In conclusion, while I can (and do) point with pride to our successes in inclusion, built primarily on the relationships we foster with our students, their parents, and families, we are not 100 percent successful. I don't think that we can be, as long as we continue to define these students by their disabilities, rather than the abilities they bring to the table.

Blog # 3 Inclusion/ a contemporary challenge- Jim Ihnat

  Inclusion is simply, teaching students with disabilities along side their non-disabled peers.  Inclusion is a hot topic on both sides of the educational boat.  Both regular education as well as special education have their own viewpoints on inclusion. 
  Special education wants the children educated along side their peers so the children don't feel excluded.  Special education wants every opportunity provided for the children that regular education students have.  On the other side of this topic,  regular education has their own opinions.  The time restraints on teachers and having to teach all the other students in the classroom.  Another complaint is training that they need, the money involved in training and the time to learn the new skills.
  I can see both sides of this topic.  Special education wants what is best for the students and not have them feel like outcasts being separated. Regular education teachers not having the training required to provide a special education student the education they deserve.  Special education wants both regular education and special education to interact with each other to build friendships.  Regular education not having the time to give to a special education student when they have 20 some regular education students that need their attention. 
  In my opinion, I think there is both good and bad things about inclusion.  The good aspect is that the disabled student does feel included by being with his non-disabled peers.  I think this is a great benefit to the student to give him the interaction and friendships that everyone wants.  They can feel included in the classroom, specials, and extra curricular activities. 
  Some of the things I don't fully agree with inclusion is the time and attention they would receive in a regular education classroom.  Teachers have enough on their plates to deal with during the day and sometimes the special education students get shuffled and forgotten about.  Also inclusion isn't for every student.  Being a parent, if my child would benefit from smaller group special education or a special school such as Summit Academy or Potential Development, than that's where I would want him versus being shuffled and forgotten about in a regular education classroom.
  I don't think the debate will ever end.  Special education and regular education both want what is best for the children.  Parents are going to want something else, so the debate wages on.