School districts aim to create equitable learning environments that reflect the diversity of their students, staff, and community, including those with disabilities. This research brief examines two processes that frequently lead to disproportionality—special education identification and disciplinary referrals for special education students. These processes have significant academic and behavioral impacts on students, and understanding them is crucial for school districts working to eliminate disproportionality.
To achieve more equitable outcomes, special education identification processes should avoid racially, culturally, or sexually discriminatory methods. If an analysis of classification data and risk ratios indicates disproportionality, districts should establish a stakeholder group to perform a root cause analysis, develop an improvement plan, and create a blueprint for implementation and evaluation. To address disciplinary disproportionality, the U.S. ED's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) advises districts to:
Establish clear priorities.
Confront explicit bias.
Eliminate practices leading to inequitable outcomes.
Implement evidence-based interventions.
Additionally, OSEP recommends that policies include seven key elements:
Specific Commitment to Equity
Family Partnerships in Policy Development
Focus on Implementing Positive, Proactive Behavior Support Practices
Clear Objective Discipline Procedures
Removal or Reduction of Exclusionary Practices
Graduated Discipline Systems with Instructional Alternatives to Exclusion
Procedures with Accountability for Equitable Student Outcomes
Citation: Hanover Research. 2018. “Best Practices in Addressing Disproportionality for Students with Disabilities.” https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bxs72tmqck7zkcw79iov4/Best-Practices-Georgia.pdf?rlkey=ciz1ja0u09x53u4wqyj6dx3lz&st=n0cp1wtj&dl=0 (accessed, June 14, 2024).
The tool created by NYU Metro Center aims to assist parents, teachers, students, and community members in evaluating the cultural responsiveness of their schools' English Language Arts curricula. Through this process, we aim to stimulate reflection on optimal learning approaches, content, and methods to enhance student engagement. Our tool draws upon diverse resources such as multicultural rubrics, anti-bias rubrics, textbook evaluations, and standards for culturally inclusive education. We have enriched these resources with supplementary questions to offer a thorough assessment tool. For complete information on the development of this tool, please refer to the Scorecard Development section at bit.ly/CRCScorecard.
Citation: Bryan-Gooden, J., M. Hester, and L. Q. Peoples. 2023. Culturally Responsive ELA Curriculum Scorecard. New York: Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools, New York University.
This tool uses the metaphor of a road map to help both general and special education staff understand how assessment data is gathered, monitored, and submitted to the federal Office of Special Education Program. The importance of timely data reporting and the distinction between general and special education procedures are highlighted.
IDEA Data Center. (n.d.) The Assessment Data Journey. https://ideadata.org/datajourney/ (accessed April 17, 2020).
