Special Education Identification Research Articles

Trends in Special Education Identification During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From Michigan

We use data from Michigan and an interrupted time series strategy to show how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted special education identifications and discontinuations. We find a substantial decrease in K–5 identifications and discontinuations during the 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021 school years. Identifications fell by 19% and 12% in the first two pandemic years, with smaller but still significant reductions in discontinuations. Districts with remote schooling and Black, Asian, and economically disadvantaged students saw larger decreases in identifications. By 2021 to 2022 rates returned to trend and continued to grow in 2022 to 2023, albeit at a similar rate to pre-pandemic. This suggests some “catch-up” accounting for delayed or missed identifications but likely not enough at this point to overcome the pandemic induced deficit.

Race Placed: Special Education Identification and Placement of Black Students

Race Placed: Special Education Identification and Placement of Black Students

The need for speed: identification of ‘the deviant’ as the ultimate goal for high returns in early childhood education and care

ABSTRACT This study aims to develop knowledge about how ‘the Deviant’ is produced through identificatory mapping materials that operate in Swedish preschools. This is achieved by identifying and critically reviewing a base of mapping materials commonly used in Swedish ECEC today, focusing on how the documents per se, and the formulations therein, risk pointing both the writer and the recipient in certain directions. This includes analysing the pre-existing structure and content as well as the proposed purpose of the mapping material. Drawing on Foucault, I consider documentation as a productive discursive element in a larger apparatus, where the mapping materials operate as a governing technology for making normalising judgments. The analysis contributes to an understanding of the documentality governing ECEC professionals, which affects how they resonate, and act in aiming to fulfil their mission in identifying certain children. In line with this reasoning, I also point out the specific status the documents have gained in the global ECEC quality discourse. The analysis shows how mapping documents named Pedagogical Mapping operate as a discursive element of the apparatus of early childhood special education identification processes and become fruitful for visibilising, comparing, and assessing the child and for further governing.

Expelled Students in Need of Special Education Services Using Bayes’ Theorem: Implications for the Social Maladjustment Clause?

The purpose of the current study was to determine the probability that a student with a disability not being served by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) would be expelled. Expulsion data were obtained from the Civil Rights Data Collection produced by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights. The latest data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the 2017 to 2018 school year were analyzed. Bayes’ Theorem was used to determine this probability based upon existing probabilities and conditional probabilities. Analyses were also conducted by state and ethnicity. Results indicated that 1 in 14 of expelled students is likely to have an unserved disability under IDEA but variability according to race/ethnicity nationwide and by state was observed. Students who were White were the least likely to be an unserved student with a disability under IDEA among those expelled. The findings encourage investigation into the intersection of variables, especially the importance of including disability status and ethnicity when explaining disparate and punitive discipline. Practitioners, especially school psychologists, work at this intersection and can influence both special education identification and discipline practices.

Lead Exposure in Children: What Special Educators Need to Know

Journalists have reported large-scale lead poisoning affecting children in cities such as Flint, Michigan. Unfortunately, children’s exposure to lead is not isolated and occurs throughout the country in both urban and rural settings. The effects of lead exposure can cause children to develop disabilities, potentially requiring special education services to address their academic and behavioral difficulties. In this paper, we detail three areas where special education has a major role in addressing the lead crisis: special education identification; intervention; and advocacy, awareness, and prevention. For each area, we provide concrete suggestions for special educators to implement in order to ensure children exposed to lead receive the special education services they need.

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

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.

Interrogating the Special Education Identification Process for Black Indigenous Students of Color

Abstract The initial special education identification process (SPED IDP) determines which students have disabilities and corresponding rights to IDEA supports. However, the disproportionate identification of Black, Indigenous Students of Color (BISOC) as emotionally disturbed necessitates the problematizing of special education structures within the SPED IDP. This critical analysis of current norms of practice within SPED IDP structures discusses hidden ideologies of Whiteness, ableism, and racism. I apply DisCrit and Whiteness Studies frameworks to interrogate power within three SPED IDP structures (a) multidisciplinary team (MDT) decision-making, (b) social–emotional–behavioral (SEB) assessments and data collection, and (c) categorical identification of emotional disturbance (ED). I include critical reflection on my professional practice in elementary schools, consider my complicity as a member of MDTs, and offer critical questions for practitioners.

Interrogating the Special Education Identification Process for Black Indigenous Students of Color

Interrogating the Special Education Identification Process for Black Indigenous Students of Color

A QuantCrit Analysis of Context, Discipline, Special Education, and Disproportionality

Using a dis/ability critical race theory (DisCrit) and critical quantitative (QuantCrit) lens, we examine disproportionate application of exclusionary discipline on multiply marginalized youth, foregrounding systemic injustice and institutionalized racism. In doing so, we examined temporal-, student-, and school-level factors that may result in exclusion and othering (i.e., placing into special education and punishing with out-of-school suspensions) within one school district. We frame this study in DisCrit and QuantCrit frameworks to connect data-based decision making to sociocultural understandings of the ways in which schools use both special education and discipline to simultaneously provide and limit opportunities for different student groups. Results showed a complex interconnectedness between student sociodemographic labels (e.g., gender, race, and socioeconomic status) and factors associated with both special education identification and exclusionary discipline. Our findings suggest that quantitative studies lacking in-depth theoretical justification may perpetuate deficit understandings of the racialization of disability and intersections with exclusionary discipline.

Critical Issues in the Training of Bilingual School Psychologists

There are over five million bilingual learners in the US public school system as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics (2020) and this number has increased dramatically over the past several decades. Shortages of well-trained bilingual school psychologists (BSP) can negatively influence the provision of culturally and linguistically responsive services, contribute to potential misidentification or delayed special education identification of bilingual learners, and reduce home-school collaboration among bilingual families. The training of BSPs is complex, and there are currently no professional standards for competencies required for this specialized profession. This article provides a research-based review of recommended training components for BSPs. Most importantly, a foundational training in cultural responsiveness, advocacy, and equity must permeate all training. BSPs must also have advanced language proficiency in another language that aligns with the provision of school psychology practice. Recommended competencies for BSPs in the areas of assessment, counseling, intervention, and consultation are provided as well as suggestions for supervision and field-based experiences. Implications for the field of bilingual school psychology are provided as well as areas for future research.

School Segregation and Racial Gaps in Special Education Identification

We use linked birth and education records from Florida to investigate how the identification of childhood disabilities varies by race and school racial composition. Using a series of decompositions, we find that black and Hispanic students are identified with disabilities at lower rates than are observationally similar white students. Black and Hispanic students are overidentified in schools with relatively small shares of minorities and substantially underidentified in schools with large minority shares. Our results are consistent with a heightened awareness among school officials of disabilities in students who are racially and ethnically distinct from the majority race in the school.

Demystifying Disproportionality: Exploring Educator Beliefs about Special Education Referrals for English Learners

BackgroundFederal civil rights law requires that English learners (ELs) with potential disabilities be identified in a timely and appropriate manner. Decades of research documenting the problem of disproportionality among ELs in special education suggest, however, that educators struggle with the proper identification of ELs with disabilities. ELs are found to be underrepresented in special education in the early elementary years and overrepresented beginning in upper elementary school. Although these disproportionality patterns are well documented, little is known about why this phenomenon persists.Purpose of StudyThis study addresses this gap by following 16 ELs and their educators in real time through the special education referral process. Using participant observation research methods, I explore mechanisms in the field that might explain disproportionality. Specifically, I examine educator beliefs about whether and when to refer ELs to special education, as well as how those beliefs manifest in the referral process for ELs.Research DesignThis qualitative research study was part of a yearlong multilevel project looking at the special education identification process for 16 ELs at two elementary schools in an urban district. The project involved data collection and analysis at the federal policy, district, school, and student levels. I used a combination of document analysis methods, participant observation research methods, and triangulation among interviews, field observations, and archival documents. Whereas the larger study investigated the entire special education identification process for ELs, this article focuses on just the referral process. Relevant data collected include interviews with school staff, observations of the referral process for ELs, and documents tied to the ELs’ special education referrals.ConclusionsThe educators in this study were found to adopt one of two stances regarding EL referrals to special education: wait to be sure and the sooner the better. These stances reflected educators’ beliefs about special education, ELs, and teachers. Teachers acted on these beliefs in way that led to the co-construction of “English learner” and “disability.” The findings suggest that educator beliefs about whether and when to refer ELs to special education serve as mechanisms that help to explain disproportionality for this student group. This study brings to light how the prevention of erroneous co-construction of EL and disability statuses requires changing the ways in which English learner and disability are conceptualized—shifting away from deficit views of these student groups and toward recognition of their many assets.

Making Visible the Invisible: Multistudy Investigation of Disproportionate Special Education Identification of U.S. Asian American and Pacific Islander Students

Although disproportionality has been a focus of special education research for more than 50 years, relatively few researchers have addressed potential inequitable or inappropriate treatment of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students in the United States, particularly in quantitative research. This multistudy investigation explored patterns and predictors of AAPI representation in special education using (a) data from states’ federal child count reports and (b) a subsample of 4,290 participants from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011). Descriptive analysis of states’ child count data indicated that, compared to White students, Asian and Pacific Islander students’ relative risk of identification differed for most disabilities, with Pacific Islanders generally demonstrating higher relative risk. Multivariate analysis of the ECLS-K:2011 subsample indicated that ethnic group differences in risk of special education identification were not robust to sociodemographic and performance controls. We discuss potential contributors to these patterns and implications for research.

난독 자녀를 둔 부모의 난독 선별, 진단 및 특수교육대상자 적격성 판별 경험의 탐구

The purpose of this study was to investigate the parental experiences of their children’s screening for and diagnosis with dyslexia, and special education identification. Fifteen parents of school-aged children diagnosed with dyslexia participated in in-depth interviews. The interviews were analyzed using constant comparison methods. The results were as follows: Parents acknowledged their children’s reading difficulties in either the early ages or early elementary years, but they hardly knew of dyslexia. There were few reliable diagnosticians to identify their children’s reading difficulties and to guide their therapeutic efforts. In order to identify their children’s difficulties effectively, parents requested special education identification. However, the interpretation of identification criteria differed case by case, and an unreasonable identification process was evident. The parents strongly suggested that there were urgent needs for early screening, a comprehensive school reading program, and personal development programs for children with dyslexia. Based on the results, implications of the parents’ experiences were made in improving the screening, diagnosis and special education identification for children with dyslexia.

Racial Differences in Special Education Identification and Placement: Evidence Across Three States

In this article, Todd Grindal, Laura Schifter, Gabriel Schwartz, and Thomas Hehir examine race/ethnicity differences in students' special education identification and subsequent placement in segregated educational settings. Using individual-level data on the full population of K–12 public school students in three states, the authors find that racial and ethnic disparities in identification persist within income categories and are stronger for those disabilities that are typically identified in a school setting, such as learning disabilities or emotional disabilities, than those more often identified by a health-care provider, such as blindness or deafness. Also, Black and Hispanic students with disabilities were more likely to be placed in a substantially separate setting, compared to white students, regardless of income status. These results suggest that low-income status is insufficient to explain observed inequalities in the rate at which students of color are identified for special education and placed in substantially separate settings. A better understanding of the ways income status and race contribute to students' interactions with the special education system are critical for building a more equitable and just K–12 education system.

Disciplined to access the general education curriculum: Girls of color, disabilities, and specialized education programming

As three teacher educators with familial ties to the Global South, but academically trained within the Global North, we adopt a de/colonial, intersectional feminist lens to analyze the “general education curriculum” in the United States. We use testimonios, each told in first-person, as entry points where we situate the entanglement of gendered, classed, linguistic, and racialized experiences with disabilities and the US academy. With an understanding that disability is not to be confused with special education identification, we examine the experiences of women and girls of Color with mental disabilities across institutions and educational spaces. The narratives move from lived experiences with bipolar disorder, to pedagogical practices employed within the US school context, to discussions about disabilities in teacher preparation programs. We offer these stories as collaborative sense-making of the general education curriculum and the westernized (i.e. colonial/white supremacist/ableist/patriarchal) ontoepistemology it reinforces. Transcending curricular approaches that are tolerant of disabilities and othered sociocultural identities, we propose an intersectional, de/colonial orientation that is humanizing along the axes of dis/ability, race, socioeconomic status (SES), class, language origin, ethnicity, religion, gender expression, sexuality, nationality, and citizenship. Such an orientation favours relationality and community over isolation and individualism, and de-centers normative curriculum in special education and specialized programming.

Divergent Discourse in Disproportionality Research: A Response to Kauffman and Anastasiou (2019)

This article is in response to Kauffman and Anastasiou, wherein the authors initiate discussion regarding the cultural politics within special education identification and placement, particularly surrounding the issue of disproportionality. In this article, we identified four points of discussion regarding societal implications of disproportionality; the roles of (a) divergent ideologies; (b) access and advantage; (c) adult, adolescent, and child behavior; and (d) methodology in the debate on disproportionality in special education identification and placement. Furthermore, we highlight the problems with focusing too heavily on either one of these roles, without proposing viable prevention and intervention efforts to eliminate discriminatory identification and placement in the future. We encourage further discourse in the field that will lead to sound policy and improved practices within and for schools.

Disentangling language from disability: Teacher implementation of Tier 1 English language development policies for ELs with suspected disabilities

Educators have long struggled to properly identify English learners (ELs) for special education. Response to intervention (RTI) policies intend to help rule out lack of opportunity to learn English as the cause of ELs' challenges. To this end, RTI must include high-quality Tier 1 English language development (ELD). This study examines teachers’ “capacity and will” (Mclaughlin, 1987) to implement RTI and ELD instructional policies for ELs with suspected disabilities. It addresses a gap in the literature regarding how teachers approach policies meant to improve special education identification for ELs and identifies mechanisms that inhibit proper disentangling of language from disabilities.

Three Midwest Rural School Districts’ First Year Transition to the Four Day School Week

The four-day school week is a concept that has been utilized in rural schools for decades to respond to budgetary shortfalls. There has been little peer-reviewed research on the four-day school week that has focused on the perception of parents who live in school districts that have recently switched to the four-day model. This study collects data from 584 parents in three rural Missouri school districts that have transitioned to the four-day school week within the last year. Quantitative statistical analysis identifies significant differences in the perceptions of parents classified by the age of children, special education identification, and free and reduced lunch status. Strong parental support for the four-day school week was identified in all demographic areas investigated; however, families with only elementary aged children and families with students receiving special education services were less supportive than other groups.

The Texas special education cap: Exploration into the statewide delay and denial of support to students with disabilities

State accountability systems have been a primary school reform initiative in the U.S. for the past twenty years, but often produce unintended negative consequences. In 2004, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) implemented the Performance Based Monitoring and Analysis System (PBMAS) which included an accountability indicator focused on the percentage of students found eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the nation’s special education law. From 2004 through 2016, the percentage of students found eligible for special education in Texas declined significantly, while the national rate held constant. Eventually, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) investigated TEA and the statewide implementation of IDEA. The purpose of this study is two-fold: (a) to evaluate the potential impact of the the PBMAS indicator on manipulation of special education identification practices; and (b) to describe how the indicator may have influenced school and district personnel. We highlight several concerning trends in state and district data and, through an analysis of publicly available reports from the ED, show how district and school personnel knowingly and unknowingly acted in ways that delayed and denied special education to potentially eligible students. We conclude with recommendations for TEA and implications for future research and policy.