What is disproportionate representation?

Being disproportionately represented refers to the unequal or unfair amount of people who are grouped in a category. In special education, there is a disproportionate representation of students of color and those who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

What is an example of disproportionality?

The most often discussed pattern of significant disproportionality is the overrepresentation of students of color in special education. Students of color, with the exception of Asian students¹, are identified for special education at a higher rate than their White peers.

What is the meaning 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 is a disproportionate identification?

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 is the difference between disproportionality and overrepresentation?

In the child welfare system, disproportionality occurs when the proportion of one group in the child welfare population (e.g., children in foster care) is either proportionately larger (overrepresented) or smaller (underrepresented) than in the general population.

disproportionate representation

What is disproportionate representation in special education?

Disproportionate representation means that the percentage of these groups in special education differs significantly from their percentage in the general school population.

What is disproportionate representation of students of color in sped?

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.

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 ...

Is ID a low incidence disability?

“Low incidence” is a general term used to describe disabilities that occur in low numbers, or are less common, within the general population. A few examples of low incidence disabilities include: Intellectual disability. Multiple disabilities or severe disabilities.

How many states still use the discrepancy model for SLD identification?

Thirty-nine states still allow their school districts to use the discrepancy model.

What does disproportionate mean for dummies?

: having or showing a difference that is not fair, reasonable, or expected : too large or too small in relation to something. He believes that middle-class people bear a disproportionate share of the tax burden. A disproportionate number of the students are poor.

What is the difference between disproportionality and overrepresentation in special education?

Disproportionality occurs when students are: Overrepresented in special education services due to inappropriate referrals to special education. Overrepresentation can occur in classification, placement, and suspension.

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.

What causes disproportionality?

There are higher numbers of children of Black/African-American or Hispanic/Latino descent in the child welfare system nationwide. This disproportionality is due to a number of systemic issues surrounding the rates of reports to Child Protective Services (CPS), poverty and access to services.

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 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 five high incidence disabilities?

A high incidence disability can include emotional and behavioral disorders (ED/B), specific learning disabilities (SLD), mild intellectual disabilities (MID), high functioning Autism (ASD), speech and language disorder, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

What are the 7 high incidence disability categories?

Is autism a high or low incidence disability?

Low incidence refers to disabilities that occur in low numbers including Physically Impaired (PI), Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH), Blind/ Visually Impaired (BVI), Autism (ASD), Deaf/Blind (D/B), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Developmental Cognitive Disabilities (DCD), and Other Health Disabilities (OHD).

What are the consequences of disproportionate representation quizlet?

(D) Disproportionate representation is problematic if it means that children have been wrongly placed in special education that deny them access to appropriate educational interventions that match the student's full learning potential, stigmatize them, or segregate them.

What is one factor that states consider when making significant disproportionality determinations?

There are multiple factors at the State level to consider in making such determinations . For example, States may want to consider the population size, the size of individual LEAs, and the composition of the State population .

Which ethnicity are we disproportionately identifying with emotional disturbance?

Black students are twice as likely to be identified as having emotional disturbance and intellectual disability as their peers.

How do you fix disproportionality in special education?

What may be one reason minority students are disproportionately represented in special education programs?

Students of color are more likely to come from low-income families, which may contribute to their over-representation in special education. Limited English proficiency: Students who are English language learners may struggle in school due to language barriers, and may be more likely to be referred to special education.

What is the issue of disproportionate representation in special education what should educators be mindful of regarding this issue?

Disproportionality in special education placement and school discipline are issues that need to be addressed by educators and policymakers, as students of color—especially students of color with disabilities—are disproportionately subjected to exclusionary discipline and may more often be placed in segregated settings ...