What are the three components of disproportionality?

Disproportionality is the overrepresentation of a specific race or ethnicity identified in one or more of four areas: identification of a disability in general; identification of a specific race or ethnicity in a specific disability category; discipline; and placement.

What are three factors influencing disproportionality in special education?

“Significant disproportionality” refers to three separate but related trends that impact a student's educational experience: (1) identification for special education (also called eligibility); (2) educational placement (once identified as eligible for special education); and (3) discipline.

What is the concept of disproportionality?

The term disproportionate means unequal or out of proportion. Although there are discrepancies in many areas, disproportionality in special education is generally referring to racial and ethnic discrepancies that exist in the identification, placement, and discipline of students with disabilities.

What contributes to disproportionality?

Factors contributing to disproportionality include cultural bias, a fearful agency climate, communication barriers, ineffective service delivery, and workforce issues.

What are the three factors that lead to overrepresentation of ethnic minority groups in special education?

Overrepresentation of minorities in special education is a growing problem in schools today. Research indicates that factors such as test bias, poverty, poor general education instruction, and insufficient professional development for working with diverse students can cause this overrepresentation.

Social Identity Theory - Definition + 3 Components

What is one of the factors influencing disproportionality in special education?

Race, culture, and background are strong factors in the over-representation of many of the different ethnic groups that are represented. These factors have had an influence on those diagnosed with autism, specific learning disabilities (SLD), other health impairments (OHI), and speech and language disabilities.

What are the factors that account for racial disproportionality in special education?

For example, research has shown that the following influence disproportionate outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education: (1) discipline policies and practices, (2) interventions and referrals, (3) instruction and assessment, (4) differential access to educational opportunity, (5) ...

What are the areas of disproportionality?

Disproportionality is the overrepresentation of a specific race or ethnicity identified in one or more of four areas: identification of a disability in general; identification of a specific race or ethnicity in a specific disability category; discipline; and placement.

How do you determine disproportionality?

What is ethnic disproportionality?

The over-representation of people from minority ethnic communities in the youth justice system is referred to as ethnic disproportionality.

What is the problem with disproportionality?

Why Is Disproportionality a Problem? When schools have higher numbers of certain ethnic or minority students enrolled in special education that they should have by statistical standards, it signals the possibility that some of the students may not be truly disabled and may have been incorrectly identified.

Why is disproportionality important?

Disproportionality is important because, in some cases, it may signal the presence of bias in the identification of children with disabilities; and inappropriately identifying children as disabled is harmful.

What is the significant disproportionality regulation?

States have an obligation under IDEA both to identify significant disproportionality, based on race and ethnicity, in the identification of children as children with disabilities and to ensure that LEAs implement child find procedures appropriately and make a free appropriate public education available to all eligible ...

What is disproportionality in the education system?

Disproportionality is the over- and under-representation of culturally and linguistically diverse children (CLD) in special education and gifted and/or talented programs.

How do you fix disproportionality in special education?

What happens if there is a determination of significant disproportionality?

Once identified as Significantly Disproportionate, the LEA is required to take mandatory actions including, but not limited to, reserving 15 percent of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funds to develop and implement a Compliance and Improvement Monitoring (CIM) for CCEIS action plan and provide ...

What is an example of disproportionality?

For example, in 2000 Black children made up 15.1 percent of the children in this country but 36.6 percent of the children in the child welfare system. Unequal treatment when comparing a racial or ethnic minority to a non-minority.

What is an example of disproportionality in schools?

The Impact of Disproportionality in Special Education

For example, students of color identified for special education programs often get placed in separate classrooms or receive more discipline than their classmates, as reported by The Century Foundation (TCF).

What is the difference between disparity and disproportionality?

While disproportionality refers to the state of being out of proportion, disparity refers to a state of being unequal. Disparity occurs when the ratio of one racial or ethnic group in an event is not equal to the ratio of another racial or ethnic group who experienced the same event.

What is an example of racial inequality in education?

Schools serving more students of Color are less likely to offer advanced courses and GATE programs than schools serving mostly White populations. Additonally, students of Color are less likely than their White peers to be enrolled in those courses and programs within schools that have those offerings.

Are black children disproportionately overrepresented in special education?

The debate over over representation in special education

The most credible studies allow researchers to control for a rich set of student-level characteristics, rather than using data aggregated to the district level, and firmly establish that blacks are disproportionately under-represented.

What is racial and ethnic disproportionality in education?

Disciplinary disproportionality encompasses the disproportionately high rates at which students from certain racial/ethnic groups are subjected to office discipline referrals, suspensions, school arrests, and expulsion.

What is disproportionate exclusionary discipline?

Suspensions, expulsions and other forms of discipline in which a student is removed from their classroom setting are often collectively referred to as “exclusionary discipline.” Disparities in exclusionary disciplinary practices are widespread and occur nationwide.

What is disproportionality in the child welfare system?

Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children are overrepresented in the child welfare system, resulting in disparate outcomes. Inequitable decision-making results in racial disparities at nearly every point along the child welfare continuum.

What are the factors that cause a school district to be identified as having significant disproportionality?

We understand that overrepresentation of one racial or ethnic group that rises to the level of significant disproportionality may occur for a variety of reasons, including over-identification of that racial or ethnic group, under-identification of another racial or ethnic group or groups, or appropriate identification, ...