Are Minorities Being Outnumbered In Special Education Schools?

For a long time, many education researchers have speculated that school districts use special education
services as a bait to stereotype minority students, to deflect them from the traditional form of
education. Such speculations has been instrumental in bringing up policies that aim to keep students of
minority communities away from special education programs. Looking at existing special education
programs, there may be a real possibility that special education schools actually identify lower rates of
minority students within their programs.
According to a U.S. Education Department study conducted in 2014, 1.08 million black students and 1.24
million Hispanic students were receiving special education services. The population of students requiring
special education was around 5 million, out of which 19 percent belong to the black sector and 21
percent to the Hispanic community, but only 11 percent of black students and 8 percent of Hispanic
students were actually placed in special education schools.
School districts continue to blame the practice of inappropriate identification as the reason for such
disparity in numbers. According to them, children who belong to minority groups are expected to be
more prone to risk factors that may result in a disability. They are more susceptible to adverse health
problems and poverty. It becomes necessary to take these factors into account for demarcating the
under-represented and over-represented populace within special education. To the contrary, many
people behind the identification process are still suffering from a racial mindset.
A few years back, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study was conducted. This study followed 20,100
students who went to kindergarten. The study focused on factors such as socio-economic status,
mothers age at the time of the childs birth, disability condition and the teachers experience with their
students. According to this extensive research, the odds of minority students having one of five disability
conditions was deciphered. It was concluded that black students were out-numbered by their Caucasian
counterparts when it came to acquiring special education.
If the above conclusion is considered to be accurate then it will be safe to say that most black students
are not getting an education that addresses their learning disabilities. Alarmingly, many students are
bearing the consequences of being wrongly placed in the category of students with special needs. This
remains a major concern, even if the national sample doesnt accurately project it.