Over Representation In Special Education

Within the United States, students have the right and opportunity to receive a free, appropriate public education. This law gives all individuals with disabilities the right to receive an education in which they are entitled to special education services but there is a major issue with misrepresentation of minority students who receive these special education services. The sub category of English Language Learners and the over representation in special education is a growing problem in education and as the United States is becoming more diverse, the over identification of these individuals needs to be monitored and education policy needs to be addressed.

“The term over identification is often used to define a group of individuals who may be

Some research has reported “that Latino children of foreign-born parents were more likely to be identified as disabled, especially when tested in English, and that the referral and eligibility reasons were often related to language proficiency,” (Sullivan,2). Looking at data, we can see these students were most like over-identified because of their language proficiency and not their ability. “Alarmingly, demographic characteristics such as race, gender, and primary home language are better predictors of special education placement than both academic performance and economic conditions,” (Dever, Dowdy, This is inequitable to ELL students who are bring referred and tested for special education based on race, gender, or primary home language instead of academics. Hostutler, Raines, 60). “The overrepresentation of specific student groups in special education is problematic if the services provided by special education are not meeting the needs of, or are harming, those students,” (Dever, Dowdy, Hostutler, Raines, 59). This is a trend we are seeing for the growing ELL student population and it is of high concern because services should be meeting the needs of these students not hurting them. “ELLs are generally over-identified in the categories of behavioral and emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, and specific learning disabilities, “ (Dever,

Although best educational practice would be to provide these supports, “currently three states-Arizona, California, and Massachusetts-have specific legislation in place that stipulates all students should receive instruction only in English, and that students identified as LEP receive sheltered English immersion (SEI) for a period of approximately one year,” which is “met with much criticism as it runs counter to much of what is known about language acquisition,” (Mcloughlin, C., & Noltemeyer, A., 69). These states legislation is assuming the students can become proficient in English within a year while “research indicates that it takes four to seven years, if not seven to ten years, for students to become fully proficient in both social and academic language,” (Sullivan,69). This kind of legislation is what is harmful to ELLs and why they are becoming over identified in special education. ELLs are not receiving the opportunity to learn the English language before they are referred for special education. “Sullivan (2011) analyzed LM identification and placement patterns over an eight-year period for all public-school systems in Arizona, where 15% of students are identified as LM-twice the national average-and more than 90% are Spanish speaking” and “the state has also been subject to the