Understanding the Empty Backpack: The Role of Timing in Disproportionate Special Education Identification

2021 ◽  
pp. 233264922110348
Author(s):  
Rebecca A. Cruz ◽  
Allison R. Firestone
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
African American ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Specific Learning Disability ◽  
Labeling Theory ◽  
School Level ◽  
Special Education Placement ◽  
School Careers ◽  
Special Education Identification ◽  
Specific Learning

Studies related to disproportionate special education identification of students from historically marginalized groups have used increasingly complex analyses to understand the interplay of factors that cause and maintain disparities. However, information regarding the influence of students’ grade level at initial special education placement remains limited. Situated in labeling theory and life course theory, we used discrete-time survival analysis to examine temporal student- and school-level factors related to patterns of placement for minoritized students within one large urban school district. Results showed that gender, race, and socioeconomic status were all factors generally associated with special education identification, and that African American and Latinx students were more likely to be placed into special education later in their school careers. This disproportionality in delayed placement was associated with particular special education labels; for example, African American students identified post-elementary school were more likely to be labeled with emotional disturbance and specific learning disability compared to same-age White peers, and Latinx students were more likely to be labeled with specific learning disability and intellectual disability compared to same-age White peers. These results implicate inequities that emerge at the intersections of age, race, and perceptions of ability that should be considered in future studies of educational equity.

Disproportional representation of minorities in special education

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann S. Maydosz
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Racial Bias ◽  
School Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Identification Process ◽  
American Students ◽  
Special Education Identification ◽  
Disproportional Representation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a brief exploration of the disproportional representation of African American students in special education with a focus on addressing racial bias in the identification process at the school level. Design/methodology/approach – This inquiry was conducted through a literature search of data and extant literature on school-level remedies to disproportional representation, particularly bias in the process of special education identification. Findings – While racial bias in any process remains difficult to expose, it cannot be eliminated as a contributing factor in the disproportional representation of African American students in special education. This review will acquaint the reader with competing explanations and proposed remedies. Originality/value – Critics have proposed that the disproportional representation of African American students in special education and in discipline statistics has become a way to segregate minority students, therefore an exploration of this practice merits concern.

scholarly journals Shifting Prevalence Patterns for Special Educational Needs in the Era of Response-to-Intervention Policy

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Hall-Mills
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Response To Intervention ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Learning Disability ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Prevalence Rates ◽  
Special Educational Needs ◽  
Intervention Policy ◽  
Specific Learning

In the United States, the Response to Intervention framework provides tiered levels of support in general education (kindergarten through grade 12) to improve student outcomes and may relate to special education determinations. While broadly applied to eligibility determinations for children with specific learning disability, the Response to Intervention model also presents an interesting consideration for children with language impairment. The requirement of the Response to Intervention framework in education policy may have a significant impact on the identification and eligibility processes for children with special educational needs. The aim of the present study was to explore whether this policy implementation altered the prevalence of students with disabilities ages 3–21 years who were determined to be eligible for special education under the categories of specific learning disability and language impairment. Longitudinal data was examined to determine whether significant changes occurred in the prevalence rates in a state that mandated implementation of Response to Intervention policy. The results revealed that significant changes occurred in the prevalence rates from pre-to post implementation of Response to Intervention policy; language impairment prevalence increased and specific learning disability prevalence decreased. Prevalence changes have maintained over multiple subsequent school years. The findings have important implications for policy and practices focused on the identification of these common disabilities throughout the school years.

scholarly journals Does Attending a Charter School Reduce the Likelihood of Being Placed Into Special Education? Evidence From Denver, Colorado

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus A. Winters ◽  
Dick M. Carpenter ◽  
Grant Clayton
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Charter School ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Language Disability ◽  
Specific Learning Disability ◽  
Primary Grades ◽  
Specific Learning

We use administrative data to measure whether attending a charter school in Denver, Colorado, reduces the likelihood that students are newly classified as having a disability in primary grades. We employ an observational approach that takes advantage of Denver’s Common Enrollment System, which allows us to observe each school that the student listed a preference to attend. We find evidence that attending a Denver charter school reduces the likelihood that a student is classified as having a specific learning disability, which is the largest and most subjectively diagnosed disability category. We find no evidence that charter attendance reduces the probability of being classified as having a speech or language disability or autism, which are two more objectively diagnosed classifications.

Intervention-Based Assessment: Rates of Evaluation and Eligibility for Specific Learning Disability Classification

1997 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 620-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. McNamara ◽  
Constance L. Hollinger
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Specific Learning Disability ◽  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Viable Alternative ◽  
Prereferral Intervention ◽  
Intervention Model ◽  
Specific Learning

Intervention-based assessment, a systematic form of prereferral intervention, represents a viable alternative to “test and place” models for identifying and teaching children with a variety of learning-related problems in schools. Data obtained from 13 schools participating for a third year in a pilot study of statewide implementation of intervention-based assessment suggested that, in comparison to a prior prereferral intervention model, fewer children are evaluated and found eligible for special education. Of those children receiving intervention-based assessment, a slight decrease occurs in the percentage classified as specifically learning disabled.

Specific Learning Disabilities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Lonigan
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
Specific Learning Disability ◽  
Specific Learning Disabilities ◽  
Low Achievement ◽  
Specific Learning

Specific learning disability is a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting about 5–8% of the school-aged population. A key concept in specific learning disabilities is unexpected low achievement. An individual whose achievement in reading, math, or writing is both low and less than what would be expected based on developmental capacity and opportunity to learn and whose low achievement cannot be explained by a sensory impairment, limited language proficiency, or other impairing medical condition is considered to have a specific learning disability. This chapter provides an overview of issues and challenges involved in the identification and diagnosis of a specific learning disability, and it provides information on prevalence, epidemiology, and interventions for specific learning disabilities. Response-to-instruction models of identification hold promise for the identification of individuals with a specific learning disability, and they provide a means for the identification of false positives while enhancing the instructional context for children at risk.

Deficits in musical rhythm perception in children with specific learning disabilities

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Vasudha Hande ◽  
Shantala Hegde
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Specific Learning Disability ◽  
Specific Learning Disabilities ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Rhythm Perception ◽  
Musical Rhythm ◽  
Specific Learning

BACKGROUND: A specific learning disability comes with a cluster of deficits in the neurocognitive domain. Phonological processing deficits have been the core of different types of specific learning disabilities. In addition to difficulties in phonological processing and cognitive deficits, children with specific learning disability (SLD) are known to also found have deficits in more innate non-language-based skills like musical rhythm processing. OBJECTIVES: This paper reviews studies in the area of musical rhythm perception in children with SLD. An attempt was made to throw light on beneficial effects of music and rhythm-based intervention and their underlying mechanism. METHODS: A hypothesis-driven review of research in the domain of rhythm deficits and rhythm-based intervention in children with SLD was carried out. RESULTS: A summary of the reviewed literature highlights that music and language processing have shared neural underpinnings. Children with SLD in addition to difficulties in language processing and other neurocognitive deficits are known to have deficits in music and rhythm perception. This is explained in the background of deficits in auditory skills, perceptuo-motor skills and timing skills. Attempt has been made in the field to understand the effect of music training on the children’s auditory processing and language development. Music and rhythm-based intervention emerges as a powerful intervention method to target language processing and other neurocognitive functions. Future studies in this direction are highly underscored. CONCLUSIONS: Suggestions for future research on music-based interventions have been discussed.

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