“I Just Call Myself Hallway Jay”: Seeking Safety at the General-Special Education Divide

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 1:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Multimodal Approaches to Engaging the Perspectives and Experiences of Disabled Young People (Table 26)

Abstract

Research documents the overrepresentation of Black and other minoritized students in special education, particularly under the high-incidence, subjective classifications. Students whose needs do not readily fit within general education spaces are removed and placed in a separate special education system. For students with intersecting marginalized identities and high-incidence disability classifications, the existence of two systems means learning and behavioral needs that could have been addressed within general education are instead passed along to special education. This grounded theory study uses Education Journey Mapping and a DisCrit lens to explore the experiences of Jason, a Black, middle school student labeled with a Speech and Language Impairment as he coped with life at the general-special education divide.

Author

• Armineh Hallaran, City College of New York - CUNY