Blacks(minorities) and Special Education, what do yo think?

[AKA2D '91]

I am a Special Education teacher, so I see this EVERYDAY!

check this out and let me know what you think...It's lengthy...
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API, 2/2/2001 - WASHINGTON (AP) - Black public school students are three times as likely as whites to be categorized as needing special education services, making them subject to less demanding schoolwork, more restrictive classrooms and isolation from their peers, educational researchers said Friday.
In a series of 14 studies commissioned by The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, researchers said they decided to address the issue after years of complaints from the NAACP and civil rights advocates nationwide.

"It was such a broad complaint that we decided it must be looked into seriously," said Gary Orfield of the civil rights project, who presented the research on Capitol Hill.

The studies, which looked at educational and legal issues in the nation's special education system, found that black students were nearly three times as likely as whites to be labeled "mentally retarded" and in need of special education services. The studies also found that, as the wealth of school districts rose, black male students were at greater risk of being disproportionately labeled "mentally retarded."

In five states - Connecticut, Nebraska, South Carolina, Mississippi and North Carolina - black students were more than four times as likely to be identified as mentally retarded than their white peers, the studies showed.

Latino students were underrepresented nationwide in special education classes, but tended to be overrepresented as their proportion of a school district's student body grew, the studies found.

"Across the board, this is a problem for minority students," said Daniel J. Losen, a lawyer for The Civil Rights Project who co-authored one of the studies.

Losen said special education programs, when used alongside regular classroom support, "can really do wonders for kids."

But in many places, he said, special education classes have become "a dumping ground for low-achieving students" who don't succeed in regular classrooms - often because classroom teachers are unprepared for the emotional and learning problems that many students suffer.

In many cases, special education classes isolate students from their peers and feature more uncertified teachers, a watered-down curriculum and over-reliance on IQ testing, the studies said. A placement in a special education class can also mean that a student's specific learning disability goes undiagnosed, the studies said.

Using 1997 Education Department data, the studies found that, nationwide, black students were 2.9 times as likely as whites to be identified as having mental retardation. They were 1.9 times as likely to be identified with an emotional disturbance and 1.3 times as likely to be identified with a specific learning disability.

Nationwide, American Indian students also were slightly more likely to be identified as mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed or with a specific learning disability.

A spokeswoman for Education Secretary Rod Paige said the department is awaiting the results of its own study on the issue, conducted by the National Academy of Sciences. The report will be issued as early as this summer, she said.

Paul Houston of the American Association of School Administrators said schools have known about such discrepancies for years. He said special education is often a school's only way to get needed counseling and special services for troubled or failing students.

"In some places, schools are confronted with kids who are not learning adequately, and they search for solutions," he said. "Special ed is one of those solutions. Realistically, in many cases, schools don't have those resources available to them, outside of the special ed system."

The NAACP in 1999 complained that a public school district in Virginia discriminated against black students, placing too many in special education classes and too few in gifted classes. A federal investigation found no evidence of discrimination against blacks in the Roanoke, Va., public schools. Similar complaints by the NAACP prompted the Harvard studies, Losen said.

The studies recommend that the Education Department and the U.S. Office for Civil Rights more aggressively enforce special education rules and that states intervene where minority students are overrepresented in such classes.

The studies also said high-stakes tests that determine whether students receive diplomas should be put on hold until schools can show that all students have had a "meaningful opportunity" to learn the material on the tests.

The studies said schools should help special education and regular classroom teachers work together, provide better training for all teachers in special education issues, provide better services for children with emotional disturbances and reduce classroom sizes overall.

The Civil Rights Project