Sources used in this document:

Despite the rosy assessment of the benefits of special education, "academic outcomes for students with disabilities fall substantially below outcomes for non-classified students, leading to skepticism among disproportionality adherents that students of color will truly benefit from special education" (Feldman 2012). Minority students tend to be treated substantively differently than whites within special education -- they are more often placed in restrictive classrooms than receive supportive instruction while in a mainstream environment or are placed in special education as punishment for perceived disobedience (Feldman 2012; Bryan, Griffin & Thomas 2012)

"The identification and assessment processes, IQ test, and practitioner bias are most frequently cited as contributing to overrepresentation" (Mills 2003: 7). Black young men are particularly overrepresented in schools dominated by whites, suggesting that behaviors not viewed as 'normative' or resistant are punished with placement (Mills 2003: 71). Minority students who are struggling are often not identified early on in their academic careers and placement in special education is seen as the only recourse. Also, economically-related struggles and cultural deficits are misread as disabilities. "The social construct of the 'normal child' became racialized through the special education referral and classification process, and subsequently produces disproportionality" (Ahram, Fergus, & Noguera 2011).

Clearly, special education is failing our children: particularly our young, black male children who are disproportionately represented in special education classes. But the solution is elusive: to what extent is instructor bias the major factor in placement is uncertain, versus real deficits? The solution is likewise unclear. Same-sex education, more mainstream classroom support and less biased forms of testing, screening, and instruction are all potential solutions (Piechura-Couture, Heins, &