Are Schools in the U.S. South Using Special Education to Segregate Students by Race?

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Equity, Race, and Cultural Competence

Abstract

Whether students of color are more or less likely to be identified as having disabilities than similarly situated students who are White in U.S. states with histories of de jure and de facto racial segregation is unknown. In analyses adjusted for strong confounds (e.g., family income, student-level achievement), students of color were less likely than White students to be identified as having disabilities. Under-identification was evident (a) for the U.S. South in aggregate, (b) across 11 Southern states separately examined, (c) in both 2003 and 2015, and (d) for specific disability conditions. Black and Hispanic students in the U.S. South have been and continue to be less likely to be identified as having disabilities than otherwise similar White students.

Authors

• Paul L. Morgan, The Pennsylvania State University

• Adrienne D. Woods, The Pennsylvania State University

• Yangyang Wang, The Pennsylvania State University

• Marianne Hillemeier, The Pennsylvania State University

• George Farkas, University of California - Irvine

• Cynthia Mitchell, The Pennsylvania State University