Are English Learners Over- or Underrepresented in Special Education? It's Complicated

• In Event: 53.039 - Achieving the Promise of Equal Educational Opportunity for Subgroups of English Learners in Washington State

Abstract

Objectives
English learners (ELs) and students with disabilities need specific supports to help them succeed in school. However, the supports they need may not be the same, and being enrolled in an inappropriate program may have negative consequences on student learning (Callahan, 2013; Scott, Boynton Hauerwas, & Brown, 2014). Depending on the population, ELs may be over- or under-represented in special education compared to non-ELs. Either way, these students are at risk of not receiving appropriate educational supports. This study compares the percentage of current and former ELs and never ELs in special education in 2012/13.

Theoretical framework
Research investigating disproportionality has mixed and contradictory findings (Morgan, et al, 2015; Skirba, Artiles, Kozleski, Losen, & Harry, 2016). Depending on the population studied and the method used to calculate representation, research has found that ELs are both over- and under-represented in special education programs (Gage, Gersten, Sugai, & Newman-Gonchar, 2013; Rueda & Windmueller, 2006; Sullivan, 2011). However, disproportionate representation may not be visible unless outcomes are disaggregated by students’ gender, race, and socioeconomic status and other student characteristics (Sullivan & Bal, 2013).

Data and Methods
The sample included the population of 1,210,734 students who attended Washington public K–12 schools in 2012/13. This included 197,471 ever-ELs, 169,625 students in special education, and 32,997 students who were both ever-ELs and in special education. The study used 2012/13 data from a Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s K–12 dataset, which includes program participation, and student-level demographic characteristics.

We compared the percentage of current and former EL students in the 2012/13 school year who were in special education to the percentage of students who were never ELs. Results are disaggregated by gender, home language, race/ethnicity, and EL categories. We used the percentage of never-ELs in special education as a benchmark of proportionate representation (14 percent in 2012/13).

Results and conclusions
Overall, current and former ELs enrolled in Washington schools in 2012/13 were as likely to be in special education as neverELs. However, some groups of ELs were under- or over-represented compared to neverELs:
• Female ELs were under-represented in special education.
• ELs who spoke home languages other than Spanish were under-represented in special education.
• White, Asian, Black, and Pacific Islander ELs were under-represented in special education, and Native American ELs were over-represented.
• ELs who had been classified for five or more years were over-represented in special education, and students who had been proficient in English for two or more years were under-represented in special education.

Significance
The term “English learner” covers a broad collection of student experiences and characteristics. Failing to disaggregate EL data can conceal disproportionate representation for certain groups, such as the dramatic over-representation of Native American ELs in special education compared to never-ELs. These findings suggest that to understand EL representation in special education, data should consistently be disaggregated by students’ gender, home language, and race/ethnicity, as well as by their status as ELs.

Authors

• Jason Greenberg Motamedi, Education Northwest

• Monica B. Cox, Chalkboard Project

• Jacob Williams, Education Northwest