Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Disproportionality Issues and Early Intervention Services

The over-representation of minority students in special education continues to be a persistent and challenging issue in education. This is a complicated issue because it is often difficult to determine if a student is struggling in school because of a disability or, as some suggest, other factors such as poverty, limited English proficiency, or factors within the school environment, such as a lack of high quality instruction or cultural bias. To illustrate, a 6th grade Hispanic girl who is not proficient in English may be diagnosed as having a learning disability because she is not reading at grade level. Similarly, an African American boy who may be acting out in school because of problems at home may be diagnosed as having an emotional disability. The consequences of over-representation have serious implications for students who may be inappropriately identified as having a disability because these students are placed in an educational track that is different than their peers which may negatively impact their academic and career outcomes. This book examines the dis-proportionality issues and early intervention services of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.