Title: Overrepresentation of Minorities in Special Education | Serendip Studio's One World
Headings: Overrepresentation of Minorities in Special Education
Overrepresentation of Minorities in Special Education
Content: In the educational system, which for some is a bridge to the special education system, minority students are both misidentified and misclassified. According to Donna Y. Ford in “Culturally Different Students in Special Education: Looking Backward to Move Forward” many people question the overrepresentation of people of color in special education: “ Special education is under constant legal and personal scrutiny regarding the overrepresentation (number and percentage) of black and sometimes Hispanic American students” (Ford 398). In-terms of referrals and the structure of special education programs, minority students’ needs are both misunderstood, considered after a diagnosis of their intellectual capacities, and not adequately addressed. In the 1980s, black students made up 16% of total enrollment in schools and 38% of enrollment in classes for people who were considered “intellectually disabled.” In the 1988-1999 academic year, there were 1,111, 650 African American children enrolled in special education (Harry and Janette Klingner 2). African Americans had the highest risk of receiving a disability label in the United States- risk of 14.28%, with Americans Indians/ Alaskan Natives at a risk of 13.10%, Caucasians at a risk od 12%, 11.34% for Hispanics, and 5.31% for Asians. Racially, ethnically, and linguistically different students made up 32% of public schools in 1989, 39% of public schools in 1999, and 45% of public schools in 2000 (Ford 392). Minority students are often treated as one group and therefore their abilities and challenges are attributed to their perceived race/ ethnicity.