"The New Asylum": Out-of-School Placements and the Sequestering of "Unteachable" Students

• In Event: 51.076 - The Geography of In(ex)clusion: Place and Issues of Access to General Education Contexts for Students With Disabilities

Abstract

This paper presents findings from an exploratory quantitative analysis of federal disability data in Annual IDEA Reports to Congress from 1993 to 2015. It draws on a Disability Critical Race framework (“DisCrit”) to both critique disability label constructs and frame an interpretation of least restrictive environment (LRE) placement data. I find significant differences in inclusionary trends based on placement. While special education has generally become more inclusive, inclusion has not occurred evenly across all levels of restrictive setting. I conclude with a challenge: to critically question the focus on labels over placements in examining equity and disproportionality, and to further investigate other potential dimensions of inequity masked by deeply flawed constructs within disability data.

Author

• Evan M Johnston, New York University