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This section contains some statistics
and national trends on racial disparities in special
education. Also available in PDF
Format for easier distribution.
The six charts below depict racial
disparities within special education. The issues
raised by the disparities depicted are addressed
in depth in Racial
Inequities in Special Education, a book
published by CRP in September, 2003.
A. Racial disparities in
special education mirror racial disparities in
other areas.
The chart below highlights the fact
that special education belongs to a much larger
and consistent trend of racial inequity in education.
B. Racial Disparities in Identification Rates
The chart below shows the identification
rates for cognitive disabilities by major racial/ethnic
groups in comparison to whites. Overrepresentation
in special education is most pronounced for black
children who are nearly three times more likely
to be labeled mentally retarded and nearly twice
as likely to be labeled emotionally disturbed.
Research presented in Racial Inequity in Special
Education strongly suggests that these disparities
cannot be explained by the influence of poverty
or related influences that don't include racial
bias, stereotypes and other race-linked factors.
Important to note is that there are even more
dramatic disparities in some state and district
level data. A full discussion of identification
rates can be found in the introduction and first
three chapters of the book, Racial Inequities
in Special Education.
C. Black children are at far greater
risk for identification for mental retardation
in some states than in others.
Risk levels of this magnitude are
rare for all other racial and ethnic groups. The
prevalence of southern states with such high risk
levels has been a persistent demographic trend
that is especially troublesome given the South’s
history of de jure segregation.
D. Racial Disparities in Placement of
Students in Restrictive Educational Settings
The chart below shows the percentages
of black, Hispanic and white children with disabilities
in each of three common educational settings.
The racial disparities are quite stark as whites
are far more likely to be educated in inclusive
settings and less likely to be excluded from their
non-disabled peers. The educational settings are
labeled “Inclusive”, “Resource
Room”, and “Substantially Separate”.
Each label corresponds to a range of time per
day that students with disabilities spend in regular
classrooms interacting with their non-disabled
peers. A comprehensive discussion of this data
can be found in Chapter 3 of Racial Inequities
in Special Education.
E. Racial Disparities for Students with
Disabilities in School Discipline
The chart below shows the disciplinary
actions experienced by different racial groups
of students with disabilities. The ratio of selected
minority groups to whites based on the incidence
of each disciplinary action. For more information
about discipline and racial inequity see CRP’s
report "Opportunities
Suspended."
F. Racial Disparities in Placement of
Students With Disabilities in Correctional Facilities
This chart compares placement
in correctional facilities of selected minority
children with those of whites with disabilities.
It is important to note that the numbers of children
who reportedly were placed in correctional facilities
was very low for all groups. The chapter by David
Osher et al, in Racial Inequities in Special
Education provides an extensive exploration
of factors contributing to the racially disproportionate
representation of minority groups in the justice
system.
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