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Racial
Inequity in Special Education
A Shocking
Trend in our Nation's Public Schools
from
the Foreword by U.S. Senator
James Jeffords
For more articles on disabilities and special ed visit
www.bridges4kids.org.
"Racial Inequity in Special Education provides
important direction, for those of us in Congress and for those
in our schools. The authors show us where we need to do better
to ensure equal educational opportunities for all of our
students, whatever their race or socioeconomic status. Where
school leadership fails to address those issues that have an
adverse impact on children of color and children with
disabilities, we must bolster our efforts to protect every
child's civil rights."
Cambridge, MA--September 13, 2002……Racial inequities pervade
special education in American schools. In 1998, approximately
1.5 million minority children were identified as having mental
retardation, emotional disturbance, or a specific learning
disability. Racial Inequity in Special Education, The Civil
Rights Project at Harvard University's new book published by
Harvard Education Press, explores the inequities experienced
by minority school- children in special education and the
potential life consequences of such inequities. These issues
are examined as systemic and as evidence of persistent racial
inequities in our system of public education.
The book also covers both the over-representation of minority
children in special education, as well as the under-servicing
of minority children with serious academic and special
education needs. The research explores the complexity of the
issues, including the high degree of subjectivity that affects
special education identification and placement, and examines
the possibility of widespread civil rights violations. The
book also includes a comprehensive review of attempts by
legislators, child advocates, and educational and civil rights
enforcement agencies to address these complex problems.
Findings Include:
Nationwide, black students are nearly three times as likely as
white students to be labeled mentally retarded, and nearly
twice as likely to be labeled emotionally disturbed. In many
states the disparities are even greater.
Once identified for special education services, most minority
students are far more likely than white students to be removed
from mainstream classrooms and to be isolated from their
regular education peers.
Poverty related factors may correlate with an increased risk
for disability, but fail to explain the gross
overrepresentation of blacks in certain disability categories.
The failure to provide high quality supports and services in a
timely manner may contribute to the disproportionate numbers
of black youth with disabilities who wind up unemployed or in
prison.
High stakes tests used to retain students in grade or deny
diplomas, over reliance on IQ testing, inequitable state
funding formulas, and restrictions on bilingual education
enacted by legislation may exacerbate problems experienced by
minority children with disabilities and contribute to
overrepresentation.
Recommendations Include:
The goal of racial equity in special education should parallel
the goal of racial equity in general education so essential to
the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001."
The current level of data collection and public reporting on
race and disability should be expanded to include ethnicity,
English language learner status, and gender, from every school
and district, with special attention paid to the potentially
negative impact of foreclosing bilingual educational
opportunities.
A moratorium on the use of high stakes tests for denying
diplomas and retaining students at grade level is needed until
all children are provided with adequate opportunities to
master the curriculum, including valid tests, and appropriate
test accommodations.
Federal and state civil rights enforcement needs to be
strengthened substantially and focused on leveraging the
necessary resources for long-term improvements, stimulating
collaborative reform efforts, and inspiring voluntary
compliance.
"The findings of Racial Inequity in Special Education indicate
a trend with chilling implications for our education system.
The over-identification of minority students in special
education and the subsequent isolation, stigmatization, and
inferior treatment they receive reconfirms the notion that
education in America falls short of offering a level playing
field for all. By compiling this body of valuable scholarship,
Losen and Orfield have unearthed the contours of the problem
as well as promising blueprints for resolving it."-U.S.
Representative Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
Professor Gary Orfield, Co-Director of The Civil Rights
Project, notes: "This book is an illuminating account of a
widespread problem that has received little attention until
now, Racial Inequity in Special Education sets the stage for a
more fruitful discussion about special education and racial
justice-a discussion that aims to advance racial equity in
both special and general education." Co-editor Daniel J. Losen
of The Civil Rights Project concludes: "The book is especially
timely because of current debates in Congress involving
special education. The research findings can inform those
debates through their extensive documentation of racial
disparities."
ABOUT HARVARD EDUCATION PRESS:
HEP publishes innovative, authoritative books covering
critical issues in education. Serving as a forum for different
perspectives within the field of education, HEP contributes to
the knowledge and greater understanding of educational issues
that are of central importance in the academy, within school
systems, and in the larger society.
RACIAL INEQUITY IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
Edited by Daniel J. Losen and Gary Orfield
With a Foreword by Senator James M. Jeffords
Publication date: September 23, 2002
Harvard Education Press / The Civil Rights Project at Harvard
University
Price: $59.95 library (ISBN 1-891792-05-9)
$28.95 paper (ISBN 1-891792-04-0) 336 pages
Review copies are limited and will be available on a
first-come, first-serve basis, unless your publication chooses
to pay for a review copy.
For all other interested in purchasing the book, please call:
1-800-513-0763. The paperback book will be twenty dollars for
journalists who intend to review it.
TO REACH THE EDITORS OF THIS NEW BOOK, PLEASE CONTACT:
Alison Harris, Information Officer, Office: 617-384-9398,
Cell: 781-424-3293,
aharris@law.harvard.edu
For Media Inquiries:
Alison Harris
The Civil Rights Project
Information Officer
617.384.9398
fx: 617.495.6367
aharris@law.harvard.edu
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