| The fact that students from ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented in special education classes has been well established in the educational literature. Confusion still exists, however, about the nature and extent of the problem, the possible explanations behind it, and the appropriate steps to remedy the problem. In this study I examined archival data from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (Cleveland, Ohio) to determine: (a) whether ethnic minority students are disproportionately identified as having emotional disturbance (ED), learning disabilities (LD), or mental retardation (MR); (b) whether students of a particular gender or ethnicity are disproportionately referred for special education evaluation; (c) whether students of a particular gender or ethnicity, once referred, are disproportionately identified as ED, LD, or MR; (d) whether students in a particular ethnic group or disability category are disproportionately placed in certain educational environments; and (e) whether specific building-level characteristics are associated with higher or lower referral and/or identification rates of students with ED, LD, or MR. Results of the investigation indicated over representation of White students in LD and, to a lesser extent, ED programs in Cleveland. African-American students were under represented in LD programs. Results also indicated higher than average special education identification rates district-wide, especially in the MR category. Ethnic disproportion was not apparent in special education placements, but placements appeared to be strongly related to disability classification. Building-level investigations could not be conducted because of insufficient access to data. Results and recommendations are discussed with an emphasis on improving student outcomes. |
