A Pattern of Practice: An Examination of Federal Policies and Black Girls' With Dis/abilities

• In Event: Examining the Mass Incarceration, Intersectionalities, and Carceral State of Special Education for Black Children

Abstract

In this presentation we examine how federal educational policies have not adequately served the educational needs of Black girls with dis/abilities, and how in many ways these policies have worsen their matriculation. We argue that there are legal statues that show a “pattern of practice” that has negatively and purposefully limited educational opportunities for Black girls. Our paper examines four policies/federal cases: (1) Brown v. Board of Education 1954, (2) Education for All Handicapped Children 1975, (3) Individuals with Dis/abilities in Education Act (2004) Reauthorization, and (4) the Every Student Succeeds Act 2015.

In this paper we assert that American schools historically rooted in “separate-but-equal,” research indicates countless Black students are consistently denied equal educational experiences, treatment, and opportunities (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Lipman, 2004). Labeled as learning disabled (e.g., ADD, ADHD, behaviorally or emotionally disturbed, etc.), many Black students and, more specifically Black girls, are placed in special education classes (Ford, 2012; Rebell & Wolff, 2008; Shealey & Lue, 2006, limiting their educational access. These students are then “pushed out” of schools, subjected to high rates of suspensions and expulsions (Sbika, Horner, Chung, Rausch, May, & Tobin, 2011). Influencing the experiences, opportunities, and treatment of Black students in K-12 public schools are educational policies. Many policies have been implemented in hopes of rectifying and ameliorating major injustices and placing U.S. public schools back on a global competitive course. Though policy seeks to amend years of “business as usual,” effective policy is often far and few in between. Instead, macro and micro legislative solutions are mandated to resolve deep-rooted social and economic issues that continue to plague U.S. public schools. While most would agree that the U.S. education policy requires immediate attention, few have been able to enact and solidify lasting change that ensures equitable educational opportunities for all students, regardless of race, gender, class, ability, etc.

Our findings reveal that school actors (educators, principals, and counselors...etc) act in collaboration with schools and both have culpability in the negative outcomes that Black girls with dis/abilities have in schools.

Authors

• Dorothy E. Hines, University of Kansas

• Jemimah L Young, Texas A&M University

• Abiola Farinde-Wu, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Ayana Allen-Handy, Drexel University