Addressing Over Representation Africanamerican Guide

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Addressing Over-Representationof African American Studentsin Special Education

THE PREREFERRAL INTERVENTIONPROCESS


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Addressing Over-Representation of African American Students in Special Education

THE PREREFERRAL INTERVENTION PROCESS

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Copyright 2002 by the Council for Exceptional Children, 1110 No. Glebe Rd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA22201-5704, and the National Alliance of Black School Educators, 310 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington,DC 20003.

ISBN: 0-86586-955-3

The ILIAD 1 Project at the Council for Exceptional Children is a leadership initiative in partnership with theASPIIRE, FAPE and PMP IDEA Partnership Projects 2. Funding comes from the U.S. Department of Education,Office of Special Education Programs (Cooperative Agreement No. H326A80005). This document was reviewedby the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the OSEP Project Officer and the ILIAD Project Directorfor consistency with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. The contents of thisdocument do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Education, nor does mention of otherorganizations imply endorsement by those organizations or the U.S. Government.

1IDEA Local Implementation by Local Administrators Partnership2Associations of Service Providers Implementing IDEA Reforms in Education Partnership, Families and AdvocatesPartnership for Education, The Policymaker Partnership

There are no copyright restrictions on this document; however, please credit the source and support of federal fundswhen copying all or part of this document. This document also is available on the ASPIIRE/ILIAD web site for printing

at: www.ideapractices.org . Recommended citation: National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE), & ILIADProject (2002). Addressing Over-Representation of African American Students in Special Education . Arlington, VA:Council for Exceptional Children, and Washington, DC: National Alliance of Black School Educators.

Additional copies may be obtained from:ILIAD ProjectCouncil for Exceptional Children1110 N. Glebe Road, Suite 300

Arlington, VA 22201-5704888-232-7733 Voice866-915-5000 TTY

703-264-9494 [email protected]

National Alliance of Black SchoolEducators310 Pennsylvania Avenue, SEWashington, DC 20003202-608-6310800-221-2654

www.nabse.org


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Acknowledgments

This guide was developed under the leadership of the following individuals:

Quentin Lawson , Executive Director, National Alliance of Black SchoolEducators

Leah Humphrey , Project Manager, National Alliance of Black SchoolEducators

Stephanie Wood-Garnett , Director, ILIAD Project, Council for ExceptionalChildren

Kayte Fearn , Special Assistant for Diversity, Council for Exceptional Children

Charity Welch , Research Analyst, American Institutes for Research

Betty Greene-Bryant , Special Education Practitioner in Residence, NationalAssociation of Secondary School Principals

Selete Avok , Project Officer (ILIAD and ASPIIRE), U.S. Office of SpecialEducation Programs

The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) and the IDEA LocalImplementation by Local Administrators Project (ILIAD) acknowledge withdeep appreciation the work of the outstanding committee chosen to providecontent for the first draft and/or review subsequent drafts of this document.Focus group members and others who have assisted in the development of this product are: Diane Chase, Cremola Carter, Doris Duncan, Donnie Evans,Alice Farling, Betty Gray, Vinnie Hall, Cassondria Green, Rochelle Jones, MyraMartin Booke, Robert Mitchell, James Patton, Brenda Townsend, Gwen Webb-

Johnson, and Jay McIntire. Synthia Saint James designed the cover artwork.

NABSE is a member of the ILIAD Partnership Project at the Council forExceptional Children.


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NABSE would like to recognize its Board of Directors for their guidance and direction duringthe development of this guide. The 2002 listing of the Board is presented below:

PRESIDENTAndre J. Hornsby, Ed.DSupervising SuperintendentNY City Board of Education

PRESIDENT-ELECTDeloris M. Saunders, Ph.DAssociate ProfessorUniversity of Maryland Baltimore County

RECORDING SECRETARY TREASURER Emma L. Epps, Ed.D.SuperintendentEcorse Public Schools

TREASURER Charlie Mae Knight, Ed.D.SuperintendentRavenswood City School District

FOUNDER Charles D. Moody, Sr., Ph.D.Provost Emeritus

DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIONCynthia Butler-BlucherPersonnel Administrator

Jefferson Parish Public School System

GOVERNANCE IN EDUCATION Joyce BrownPolicy and Governance Consultant

JB Consulting Service

HIGHER EDUCATIONAbdulalim Shabazz, Ph.D.Distinguished Professor of MathematicsLincoln University

INSTRUCTION & INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORTMarietta EnglishTeacher MentorBaltimore, MD

LOCAL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIONWanda D. BrooksPrincipalThomy Lafon School

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, RESEARCH& EVALUATION

Doris J. Hodge, Ph.D.Detroit, MI

RETIRED EDUCATORS James A. Clarke, Ed.D.Retired Superintendent/ProfessorRaleigh, NC

AFFILIATE COUNCILWillie Foster, Ph.DEast Point, GA

SPECIAL PROJECTS ADMINISTRATIONMartha YoungSenior ConsultantFoundations, Inc.

SUPERINTENDENTS J. Russell Garris, Ed.DPrincipalAsbury Park High School

FOUNDATION CHAIRPERSONDeborah Hunter-Harvill, Ed.D.PrincipalWhitney Young Magnet Middle School

PARENT COUNCIL CHAIR Gloria Funches-NolandHigh School Guidance CounselorLorain, OH

HISTORIANChristella D. MoodyLas Vegas, NV

PAST PRESIDENTLois Harrison-Jones, Ed.D.Clinical ProfessorHoward University

LEGAL COUNSELAubrey V. McCutcheon, Jr., P.C.

Ypsilanti, MI

GOVERNMENT RELATIONSLaRuth Gray, Ph.D.Deputy DirectorNew York University

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Quentin R. LawsonNABSE


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Acknowledgments ....................................................................................iii

Introduction ...............................................................................................1

Overview....................................................................................................5

Guidance from the Law ............................................................................11

The Prereferral Intervention Process .........................................................15

Understanding the Effect of School Climate..............................................25

Involving Families ....................................................................................31Taking Action Where It Is Needed ...........................................................37

Resources..................................................................................................39

Table of Contents


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Addressing Over-Representation

Introduction

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is designed to ensurethat students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education. Toaccomplish this goal, schools must have in place appropriate procedures todetermine if the child who is referred for special education services is a childwith a disability and requires special education and related services to achieveand progress appropriately in the school curriculum.

In many cases, however, children are inappropriately referred and erroneouslydetermined to require special education and related services when, in fact, theydo not. When this happens repeatedly and primarily to one group of studentsin a school districtas is the case for African American students in many dis-tricts across the countryit results in a disproportionate percentage of group

membership in special education. Over-representation in special educationoccurs when a groups membership in the program is larger than the percentageof that group in the educational system or within a given disability category(e.g., learning disability, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, etc.). Suchpopulation variance is rarely justifiable and is always cause for concern.

When such disproportionality occurs, the entire school communityteachers,administrators, school board members, community leaders, and family mem-bersmust ask the question, Why is this group of students over-representedin special education? In many cases, the answer will lead stakeholders to

examine general education program practices and consider strategiesparticu-larly those related to school climate, prereferral intervention practices, familyinvolvement, and professional developmentthat may prevent and/or reducethe incidence of over-representation. Administrators have an important roleto play in leading this inquiry and carrying out actions designed to remedyand/or improve situations that may be found to exist.


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Although IDEA provides support for admin-istrators who wish to tackle the issue of over-representation of African American studentsin special education, it stops short of pre-scribing what an administrator might do tointervene. Addressing Over-Representationof African American Students in Special

Education: The Prereferral InterventionProcessfills that void by describing promisingapproaches that researchers and experiencedpractitioners recommend may be undertakento prevent the over-representation of African

American students.

About this Guide The National Alliance of Black School Educa-tors (NABSE) is committed to the mandatesof IDEA, especially the provisions for a freeappropriate public education for all children(FAPE). NABSEs intent is to ensure that

appropriate educational opportunities areavailable for diverse exceptional learners.Appropriate infers that African American stu-dents have equitable opportunities to learnin special and general education programs.To this end, NABSE, in collaboration withthe IDEA Local Implementation by LocalAdministrators Project (ILIAD) at the Coun-

cil for Exceptional Children, has developed Addressing Over-Representation of African American Students in Special Education:The Prereferral Intervention Process . Theguide is designed to assist administratorsaterm used here to include building admin-istrators, central office administrators, andschool board members, as appropriateinassuming a leadership role in addressing over-representation in their districts.

In recent years, a number of strategies toaddress over-representation of African Amer-ican students have been presented in the pro-

fessional literature. The focus of this guideis on preventive strategiesspecificallyhow administrators may use the prereferralintervention process, school climate, familyinvolvement, and professional developmentto prevent and/or help reduce the over-rep-resentation of African American students inspecial education, as well as ensure that stu-dents receive an appropriate education thatmaximizes their learning potential.

The guide is designed to provide administra-tors with a general understanding of the issueso that they may review their programs forsigns of over-representation of African Amer-ican students and take appropriate action asneeded. To this end, the guide presents infor-mation on the following topics:

An overview of over-representation, includ-ing U.S. Department of Education datashowing the extent and seriousness of theproblem.

How the law supports administrators inaddressing over-representation of AfricanAmerican students in special education.

How experienced practitioners and research-ers suggest administrators might interveneto prevent and eliminate the over-represen-tation of African American students in their

Accountability is a requirement of the

entire school communitynot just special

education. Leadership is needed at

all levelsclassroom, building, district,

greater school communityto ensure that all students receive an appropriate

education.

NABSE Focus Groups, 2001


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districts through a prereferral interventionprocess, attention to school climate, familyinvolvement, and professional develop-ment.

Resources on over-representation thatadministrators may refer to for further studyand programmatic support.

Featured in the guide are recommendationsof practices that show promise in preventingthe over-representation of African Americanstudents in special education. NABSE andILIAD convened focus groups of experiencedpractitioners and researchersmost of whomhad knowledge of both special education and

culturally diverse studentsto develop therecommendations. These recommendationshave been organized into checklists at theend of each chapter. Administrators areencouraged to compare their own programprocesses and procedures with those sug-gested in the checklists and use their find-ings to recommend possible changes. [ Pleasenote that the suggestions in the checklists are notrequired by IDEA.]

In most cases, carrying out the recommen-dations will require a joint effort betweenbuilding administrators, central officeadministrators, and school board members,

not to mention instructional staff and familymembers. It is hoped that administrators willcollaborate with each other, as well as withother stakeholdersschool board members,teachers, related service providers, familymembers, community members, state andlocal government officialsin using theguide to review school practices related toappropriate identification of children forspecial education.

NABSE and ILIAD recognize that theresponsibilities of being a school adminis-trator are great. Therefore, this guide wasdeveloped and reviewed by professionals insimilar roles to ensure that the strategies andresources offered are user-friendly, practical,

and reflect the perceptions of successful prac-titioners and administrators as they relateto disproportionate placement of AfricanAmerican learners in special education.

We must make learning relevant for all

students.



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Data Show the Extent of the ProblemEach year, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special EducationPrograms (OSEP) prepares the Annual Report to Congress on the Implemen-tation of IDEA . The Annual Report contains data from the U.S. Departmentof Education showing the number of students served in special education andhow many of these students are from a diverse cultural background.

Data presented in the 2000 Annual Report has shown that over-representationof African American students in special education is a problem that underminesefforts to provide equitable education for all children in this country. In the

1998-1999 school year, African American students were: 2.9 times as likely as white students to be labeled mentally retarded.

1.9 times as likely to be labeled emotionally disturbed.

1.3 times as likely to be labeled as having a learning disability.

Further, African American students were less likely than their whitecounterparts to be returned to general education classrooms once theyentered special education.

Table 1 presents data from the most recent Annual Report (2000). TheTwenty-second Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act once again documentsthe extent and seriousness of over-representation in the nations schools.Consider these statistics:

African American youth, ages 6 through 21, account for 14.8 percent of thegeneral population. Yet they account for 20.2 percent of the special educationpopulation.


Overview


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Table 1. Percentage of Students

Ages 6-21 Served by Disability and Race/Ethnicity in the 1998-99 School Year 1

Disability American

Indian

White (non-

Hispanic)Hispanic

Black (non -

Hispanic)

Asian/ Pacific

Islander

Specific Learning Disabilities 1.4 1.4 18.3 15.8 63.0

Speech and LanguageImpairments 1.2 2.4 16.5 11.6 68.3

Mental Retardation 1.1 1.7 34.3 8.9 54.1

Emotional Disturbance 1.1 1.0 26.4 9.8 61.6

Multiple Disabilities 1.4 2.3 19.3 10.9 66.1

Hearing Impairments 1.4 4.6 16.8 16.3 66.0

Orthopedic Impairments 0.8 3.0 14.6 14.4 67.2

Other Health Impairments 1.0 1.3 14.1 7.8 75.8

Visual impairments 1.3 3.0 14.8 11.4 69.5

Autism 0.7 4.7 20.9 9.4 64.4

Deaf-Blindness 1.8 11.3 11.5 12.1 63.3

Traumatic Brain Injury 1.6 2.3 15.9 10.0 70.2

Developmental Delay 0.5 1.1 33.7 4.0 60.8

All Disabilities 1.3 1.7 20.2 13.2 63.6

Resident Population 1.0 3.8 14.8 14.2 66.2

1Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Data Analysis System (DANS)


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In 10 of the 13 disability categories, thepercentage of African American studentsequals or exceeds the resident populationpercentage.

The representation of African Americanstudents in the mental retardation anddevelopmental delay categories is more thantwice their national population estimates.

Data from Annual Reports have subse-quently been used by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights as a basis for monitoring schooldistricts. [It is important to note that manyof the references cited in this guide useDepartment of Education and OCR data as

a basis for discussion.]

Serious ImplicationsResult from the Over-Representation of

African AmericanStudents in Special

EducationOver-representation has been shown to causeharm to many African American studentsnationwide. Students may:

Be denied access to the general educationcurriculum.

Receive services that do not meet theirneeds.

Be misclassified or inappropriately labeled.

Too often mislabeling results in low expecta-tions for achievement that are held for thestudent. The potential for social-emotionalproblems increases and post-school outcomesare seriously undermined. Mislabeled stu-dents may, in fact, experience similar nega-tive results as students with disabilities, such

as inequity in educational opportunity, dif-ferential graduation rates, differential earn-ing power upon graduation, and differentialenrollment in postsecondary educationalinstitutions.

A variety of reasons may be given for whyoveridentification of some students occursthe most prevalent ones being:

The difficulty in constructing instructionalprograms that address students uniquelearning strengths and needs.

Ineffective procedures and processes used torefer and classify students for special educa-tion.

Lack of knowledge that a problem exists and,subsequently, how to resolve it.

When over-representation occurs, childrenwho actually do not have disabilities are sud-denly treated as if they are disabled, and thelabel that accompanies categorization tendsto persist throughout their school experi-ence. Such a situation is unjustifiable by anystandard.

Underrepresentation Also Is

Disproportionality Disproportionality may denote anunderrepresentation, as in the percentagesof African American students in programs for the gifted and talented or the percentagesof Asian students in special educationclasses. In contrast, disproportionality also denotes over-representation, as inthe percentages of African Americansstudents and other diverse groups in

special education programs.


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Does Over-Representation Exist In

Your School?One of the most important things admin-istrators can do is understand the serious-ness of over-representation and committhemselves to reviewing their own schoolprograms for any evidence of it. Administra-tors are encouraged to begin their investiga-tion with a review of their states data andthe schools and/or districts report of who isbeing served in special education.

In determining whether over-representationexists, administrators should consider the fol-lowing questions:

Are special education referrals being madefor appropriate reasons?

Is there a noticeable pattern in which teach-ers refer students regularly? Do certainteachers and/or schools have particularlyhigh referral rates?

Is there a high percentage of students whosefamilies have low socioeconomic status orwho are culturally and/or linguisticallydiverse in special education classes?

Have other possible sources of the problembeen investigated, such as limited instruc-tional materials, a non-welcoming schoolclimate, language differences, poor instruc-tion, etc.?

What documented interventions wereattempted before the student was evalu-ated for special education?

Were the interventions instituted and modi-fied for enough time before they were aban-doned?

What were the results for each childreferred?

Should over-representation be found toexist, it is imperativelegally, as well asethicallythat steps be taken to prevent andreduce it. Many strategies and interventionsare available that prevent the need for specialeducation programs. These strategies typi-cally focus on helping all students succeed,ensuring that:

Students participate and learn in a high qual-ity curriculum and instructional program.

The school climate respects the culturaland linguistic diversity of students and staff members.

Why African American

Students May Be Over-Represented in SpecialEducation

The professional literature has identified thefollowing possible causal factors: Failure of the general education system

to educate children from diversebackgrounds.

Inequities associated with specialeducation referral and placement

procedures. Misidentification and the misuse of

tests. Lack of access to effective instruction

in general education programs. Insufficient resources and less well

trained teachers making learning moredifficult.


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Families are appropriately and sensitivelyinvolved in the education of their children.

Teachers have the professional developmentand support they need to address student

needs in the classroom.

In the following chapters, recommendationsfrom experienced practitioners and research-ers for preventing and reducing the incidenceof over-representation in each of these areasare presented.

Administrators should review data and

develop performance-based evaluations for

teachers and students. Student achievement

data must be disaggregated and aggregated

based on race, gender, ethnicity, andlanguage. It must be reported to the

community.



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Federal law has long been concerned with providing equity and academic parity

for the nations children. Administrators can draw support from federal lawspecifically the Individuals with Disabilities Education A ct (IDEA), PublicLaw 105-17when addressing the over-representation of African Americanstudents in their districts. A brief review of current activities related to over-representation of African American students in IDEA follows.

Congress Identifies the Over-Representation of African American

Students in Special Education as aNational ConcernDuring the reauthorization of the IDEA (1997), Congress examined researchon the general profile and academic performance of students with disabilitiesin schools. The data indicated that students with disabilities were morelikely than other students to come from families with low socioeconomicstatus and families whose parents had less formal education. Consistent withprevious studies, these data also revealed disproportionate numbers of AfricanAmerican students in certain special education classes.

Congress was troubled by the fact that there continued to be more AfricanAmerican children in special education than would be expected based on thepercentage of diverse learners in the general school population. In response tothe accumulation of these data, Congress called for greater efforts to ensurethat African American students were classified accurately and appropriatelyplaced.


Guidance fromthe Law


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Relevant IDEA Provisions34 C.F.R. 300.755 Disproportionality.

(a) General. Each State that receives assistance under Part B of the Act, and the Secretary of the Interior, shall provide for thecollection and examination of data to determine if significantdisproportionality based on race is occurring in the State or in the schools operated by the Secretary of the Interior withrespect to

(1) The identification of children as children with disabilities,including the identification of children as children with disabilitiesin accordance with a particular impairment described in section602(3) of the Act; and

(2) The placement in particular educational settings of thesechildren.

(b) Review and revision of policies, practices, and procedures.In the case of a determination of significant disproportionality

with respect to the identific ation of children as children withdisabilities, or the placement in particular educational settings of these children, in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section,the State or the Secretary of the Interior shall provide for the

review and, if appropriate revision of the policies, procedures,and practices used in the identification or placement to ensurethat the policies, procedures, and practices comply with therequirements of Part B of the Act.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1418(c))

34 C.F.R. 300.346(a)(2)(ii). Development, review,and revision of IEP.

(2) Consideration of special factors.

(i) The IEP team also shall

(ii) In the case of a child with limited English proficiency,consider the language needs of the child as those needs relateto the IEP.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(3) and (4)(B) and (e))

34 C.F.R. 300.532 Evaluation procedures.Each public agency shall ensure, at a minimum, that the followingrequirements are met:

(a)

(1) Tests and other evaluation materials used to assess a childunder Part B of the Act

(i) Are selected and administered so as not to be discriminatory on a racial or cultural basis; and

(ii) Are provided and administered in the childs native languageor other mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasibleto do so; and

(2) Materials and procedures used to assess a child with limitedEnglish proficiency are selected and administered to ensurethat they measure the extent to which the child has a disability and needs special education, rather than measuring the childsEnglish language skills.

(b) A variety of assessment tools and strategies are used to gather relevant functional and developmental information about the child,including information provided by the parent, and informationrelated to enabling the child to be involved in and progress inthe general curriculum (or for a preschool child, to participate inappropriate activities), that may assist in determining

(1) Whether the child is a child with a disability under 300.7;and

(2) The content of the childs IEP.

(c)

(1) Any standardized tests that are given to a child

(i) Have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used; and

(ii) Are administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel

in accordance with any instructions provided by the producer of the tests.

(2) If an assessment is not conducted under standard conditions,a description of the extent to which it varied from standardconditions (e.g., the qualifications of the person administeringthe test, or the method of test administration) must be includedin the evaluation report.

(d) Tests and other evaluation materials include those tailoredto assess specific areas of educational need and not merely those that are designed to provide a single general intelligencequotient.

(e) Tests are selected and administered so as best to ensure that if a test is administered to a child with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the childs aptitudeor achievement level or whatever other factors the test purportsto measure, rather than reflecting the childs impaired sensory,manual, or speaking skills (unless those skills are the factors that thetest purports to measure).

(f) No single procedure is used as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability and for determining anappropriate educational program for the child.

(g) The child is assessed in all areas related to the suspecteddisability, including, if appropriate, health, vision, hearing, socialand emotional status, general intelligence, academic perfor mance,communicative status, and motor abilities.

(h) In evaluating each child with a disability under 300.531-300.536, the evaluation is sufficiently comprehensiveto identify all of the childs special education and related servicesneeds, whether or not commonly linked to the disability category in which the child has been classified.

(i) The public agency uses technically sound instruments that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors,in addition to physical or developmental factors.

(j) The public agency uses assessment tools and strategies thatprovide relevant information that directly assists persons indetermining the educational needs of the child.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(6)(B), 1414(b)(2) and (3))

34 C.F.R. 300.534 Determination of eligibility.(a) Upon completing the administration of tests and other evaluation materials

(1) A group of qualified professionals and the parent of the childmust determine whether the child is a child with a disability, asdefined in 300.7; and

(2) The public agency must provide a copy of the evaluationreport and the documentation of determination of eligibility to the parent.

(b) A child may not be determined to be eligible under thispart if

(1) The determinant factor for that eligibility determination is

(i) Lack of instruction in reading or math; or

(ii) Limited English proficiency; and

(2) The child does not otherwise meet the eligibility criteria

under 300.7(a).(c)

(1) A public agency must evaluate a child with a disability inaccordance with 300.532 and 300.533 before determining thatthe child is no longer a child with a disability.

(2) The evaluation described in paragraph (c)(1) of this sectionis not required before the termination of a student's eligibility under Part B of the Act due to graduation with a regular highschool diploma, or exceeding the age eligibility for FAPE under State law.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1414(b)(4) and (5), (c)(5 ))


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Under IDEA 97, states are now requiredto gather and examine data to determine if significant disproportionality based on raceis occurring in the state with respect to theidentification of children as children withdisabilities and their placement in particulareducational settings. 34 C.F.R. 300.755. Toallow for comparisons between states, Con-gress identified five race/ethnicity categoriesthat all states must use in collecting andreporting data:

American Indian.

Asian/Pacific Islander.

Black (non-Hispanic). Hispanic.

White (non-Hispanic).

By creating reporting mechanisms thatinclude race/ethnicity data, Congress feltthat they could better monitor the issue.Further, the reporting mechanism provided amechanism for states and districts to examinepotential over-representation issues.

Whether the child is from a culturally diversebackground or not, IDEA 97 emphasizesthat special education is not a place. Rather,special education is a set of services to sup-port the needs of children with disabilities tosucceed in the curriculum. In determiningthe individualized education program (IEP)for a child with limited English proficiency,IEP teams must consider the language needs

of the child as those needs relate to theIEP. 34 C.F.R. 300.346(a)(2)(ii). Further,IDEA provides that non-biased tests andevaluation procedures be used to assesschildren for possible identification as a childwith a disability. 34 C.F.R. 300.532.

Finally, IDEA specifies that when it is

decided that the determinant factor for eli-gibility is limited English proficiency, a childis ineligible for special education. 34 C.F.R.300.534. Moreover, a child also must befound ineligible for special education if thedeterminant factor is lack of instruction inreading or math. 34 C.F.R. 300.534.

The Role of the U.S.Office of Civil RightsSince 1965, the U.S. Department of Educa-tion, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has trackeddata on African American students related totheir enrollment in special education. OCR has monitored school districts and requiredcompliance activities when problems werefound to exist. For example, complianceactivities in two districts resulted in theestablishment of prereferral interventionprocesses that enabled practitioners to solvelearning and behavioral problems in thecontext of providing instructional support

and interventions in general educationclassrooms.

OCR is responsible for enforcing severallaws that affect school practices related tothe over-representation of African Americanstudents. These laws are:

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 19 73 (Section 504). This law prohibitsdiscrimination against individuals with dis-

abilities. The protections apply to individualswho are perceived as having but who do notactually have a disability (e.g., children whohave been misclassified).

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This law also prohibits discrimi-nation against individuals with disabilities.The protections apply to individuals who areperceived as having but who do not actu-


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ally have a disability (e.g., children who havebeen misclassified).

Title VI of the Civil Rights A ct (Title VI).This law prohibits discrimination on the

basis of race, color, or national origin.

Administrators can turn to these laws forsupport when tackling over-representationissues.

Litigation: SchoolDistricts Found Out of

Compliance withFederal RegulationsWhat might happen if data show that over-representation exists in a school district andthat nothing is being done to reduce or elimi-nate it? Due to the seriousness of the issue,the district may become involved in legalchallenges. In addition, OCR may cite thedistrict, and should that happen, the districtwill be instructed to enter into a correctiveaction plan with OCR.

For over three decades, over-representationdata have figured prominently in court casesand in discussions aimed at eliminating ineq-uities in the educational system. Administra-tors may benefit from knowing about severallandmark court cases in the 1970s that arerelevant to the present discussion of over-representation of African American studentsin special education. These cases are:

Diana v. the California State Board of Educa-tion (1970).

Johnson v. the San Francisco Unified SchoolDistrict (1971).

Larry P. v. Riles, California (1979).

Generally, these cases found that publicschool assessment practices were discrimina-tory. The assessments inaccurately identifieda disproportionate number of minoritystudents as students in need of specialeducation and unnecessarily segregated theminto special education classes. These caseswere extremely influential in shaping IDEAPart B requirements for nondiscriminatorytesting and classification, and the proceduralsafeguards against misclassification.


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In schools where the entire school communityteachers, administrators,family members, and other stakeholdershold high expectations for studentlearning and students are positively reinforced for their achievements andparticipation, over-representation typically is not an issue. It is when theteaching-learning process breaks down that incidences of over-representationtend to increase. This can happen in any school or district. Heres why.

In many schools, the only way teachers can obtain help or support when theirinstructional approaches are not working is to refer the child for special edu-

cation evaluation. It is well-documented that errors often occur during theassessment, eligibility, and placement processes resulting in students beingfound eligible for special education services when they may have been victimsof ineffective teaching.

There is clearly a need for a step prior to special education referral at whichtime instructional staff may request help with a child who exhibits an academicor behavioral problem that the teacher is unable to resolve. The prereferralintervention process is such a strategy because it prevents referrals by assistingteachers and students with the presenting problems in the context of the general

education classroom. Although different prereferral intervention approachesexist, they all have in common one important purpose: To provide supportsnecessary to maintain the student in general education if at all possible.

School districts have used prereferral intervention processes since the 1970s.In fact, more than a decade ago at least 34 states required or recommendedsome form of prereferral intervention prior to formal special education referral.Many school districts across the countryincluding large urban districts in


The PrereferralInterventionProcess


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Chicago, Baltimore, Miami-Dade County,and Las Vegashave developed prereferralmanuals and implemented large-scaleprereferral intervention processes in theirdistrict schools.

How do administrators use aprereferral intervention process toaddress the over-representation of

African American students in specialeducation?

The professional literature suggests that pre-referral intervention processes show promisefor preventing the overidentification of Afri-can American students for special educationreferral. Such processes may have the poten-tial to identify and address systemic problems(e.g., inadequate instruction, irrelevant cur-riculum, lack of resources), and may, in turn,alleviate the source of the students academicand/or behavioral difficulties.

To prevent over-representation, administra-tors should become familiar with effectiveprereferral intervention systems and instituteone in their building. When functioningproperly, these prereferral interventionsystems often reduce inappropriate referralsto special education and produce improvedstudent performance. In fact, experiencedpractitioners report that the majority of students discussed at these prereferralmeetings are never referred to special

education.

Because the goal of prereferral interven-tion systems is to ensure that students haveaccess to quality education, administratorsalso may want to direct their attention tomaking sure that instructional staff have

sufficient resources, skills, and professionaldevelopment opportunities to understandthe needs of diverse learners.

Report Tracks

Over-Representation from1982 to Present The 2002 National Academy of Sciences(NAS) report, Minority students in specialand gifted education , examines theevidence documenting the presence of over-representation from 1982 to presentday. Among the findings of the NAS reportis the assertion that to reduce the type of learning and behavioral problems that

typically result in large numbers of studentsfrom culturally diverse backgrounds beingreferred to special education, schoolsshould do more and do it earlier to ensurethat students receive quality generaleducation services. Further, the reportcautions that no child should be foundeligible for special education unless thereis evidence of insufficient response to highquality interventions in the relevant domainsof functioning in school settings.

Al th oug h the st udy st op ped sh or tof identifying strategies to carry outrecommendations, both of these findingsunderscore the need for preventiveapproaches, such as prereferral systems.

From: National Research Council (2002).Minority students in special and giftededucation . Washington, DC: National

Academy Press.


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UnderstandingPrereferral

InterventionPracticesAdministrators should be aware that thefoundation for a prereferral system is a solideducational program. In successful schools,students participate and progress in a highquality curriculum. Instructional staff mem-bers receive sufficient resources and profes-sional development to ensure that instruc-

tional pedagogy is appropriate to studentneeds. Unfortunately, reportssuch as thoseprepared by the U.S. Department of Educa-tion, Office of Civil Rightshave found thatthere is a linkage between the overidentifica-tion of African American students in specialeducation programs and their lack of accessto effective instruction and intervention ingeneral education programs.

Prereferral intervention teams go by manynames, such as school-based problem solvingteams, teacher assistance teams, and inter-vention teams. At the core of most prereferralintervention models is collaborative problemsolving among teachers, related service per-sonnel, family members, and administrators.

These individuals work as a team to provideinstructional staff with support and strate-gies designed to improve achievement for allstudents.

A major goal of the school-based prereferralintervention team is to improve attitudesand augment the skills of school-based staff to adequately address students academicand behavioral needs. The process recognizesthat many variables affect learning. Thus,rather than first assuming the difficulty lieswithin the child, team members and theteacher consider a variety of variables that

may be at the root of the problem, includingthe curriculum, instructional materials,instructional practices, and teacher percep-tions.

In general, the prereferral intervention pro-cess is intended to:

Document difficulties the student may behaving with instruction and determine pos-sible reasons for the proble m .

Provide and document classroom modifica-tions and/or other strategies .

Assess interventions to ensure that they areappropriate and successful .

Monitor the students progress for a signifi-cant period of tim e.

Identify students for whom the learningand/or behavioral difficulty persists in spiteof suggested intervention s.

The process by which prereferral interven-tion teams solve problems varies. Generally,the referring teacher documents attemptsto solve the problem. These data are sharedwith the team and become a part of the pre-referral documentation. The team discussesthe data, and in some cases may gatheradditional information. Together with the

Start with the students strengths. Discover

what the student needs to be successful in

school.



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Sample References: PrereferralDuring the 1980s and early 1990s, a substantial number of prereferral approaches werepresented in the literature. While it is beyond the scope of this guide to present them all,following are selected references.

Bay, M., Bryan, T., & OConnor, R.(1994). Teachers assisting teachers:

A pr er ef er ral mo de l for ur ba neducators. Teacher Educat ion andSpecial Education , 17 , 10-21.

Chalfant, J., & Pysh, M. (1989). Teacher

assistance teams: Five descriptivestudies on 96 teams. Remedial andSpecial Education , 10 , 49-58.

Dodd, J., Nelson, J., & Sprint, W. (1995).Prereferral activities: One way toavoid biased testing proceduresand possible inappropriate specialeducation placement for AmericanIndian students. Journal of EducationalIssues of Language Minority Students , 15 .

Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. (1989). Exploringeffective and efficient prereferralinterventions: A component analysisof behavioral consultation. SchoolPsychology Review , 23 , 260-283.

Graden, J., Casey, A., & Christenson, S.(1985). Implementing a prereferralintervention system: The model.Exceptional Children, 51 (5), 377-384.

Hayek, R. (1987). The teacher assistanceteam: A prereferral support system.Focus on Exceptional Children , 20 , 1-7.

Pugach, M., & Johnson, L. (1989). Prereferralinterventions: Progress, problems,and challenges. Exceptional Children,56 , 217-226.

Rosenfield, S. (1992). Dev eloping school-based consultation teams: A design

for organizational change. SchoolPsychology Quarterly , 7 , 27-46.

Ross, R. P. (1995). Best practices inimplementing intervention assistanceteams. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes,(Eds.), Best Practices in SchoolPsychology , Rockville, MD: National

Association of School Psychologists.

Schrag, J., & Henderson, K. (1995). School-based intervention assistance teams

and their impact on special education:Final report . Alexandria, VA: National

Associat ion of State Directors of Special Education. (ERIC DocumentReproduction Service No. EC 304627).

Sindelar, P., Griffin, C., Smith, S., & Watanabe, A. (1992). Prereferral intervention:Encouraging notes on preliminary findings. The Elementary School Journal ,

92 (3), 245-259.

*IDEA does not require the use of these resources.


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referring teacher, the team generates inter-ventions that are designed to enable thestudent to progress in the general educationclassroom.

Administrators can facilitate an effectiveprereferral intervention process designed toprevent the over-representation of AfricanAmerican students by:

Identifying team members who have experi-ence using and designing instructional tech-niques that address the individual needs of students.

Identifying team members with expertise in

addressing the educational needs of AfricanAmerican students.

Making sure prereferral team membersunderstand that their purpose is to recom-mend and support effective interventions ingeneral educationand not to operate asa special education eligibility or placementcommittee.

Giving teams adequate time to developand become institutionalized as a schoolresource.

Making arrangements to ensure thatpaperwork requirements do not become aburden.

Providing sufficient human and fiscalresources for team members to plan, consult,and communicate with all parties.

Administrators should monitor the effective-ness of the prereferral intervention process toensure that students are appropriately sup-ported and challenged in general education

by putting in place a process for the reviewof interventions and their implementation.Records should be kept that document:

Initial learning concerns.

Interventions implemented.

Length of time each intervention wasattempted.

Possible Prereferral Roles

for Team MembersGeneral education teacher . Identifiesduring the prereferral phase individualstudents who may need assistance. May implement interventions, or consult withother staff members who may providesmall group or classroom assistance.

School psychologist or educationalassessor . Provides individual or small groupobservations, support sessions, screening,

and academic diagnostic assessment.

School counselor . Reviews student recordsand support for diagnostic testing profiles.Plans with classroom teacher and supportstaff to target learning and behavioralneeds of students.

Reading and math specialists . Provideinstructional supports and/or small groupinstruction. Suggest whole class methodsof working in the classroom.

Grade level or clusters of teachers . May plan, share, or exchange optional methods,materials, and instructional practices that

work with students in the general educationcurriculum.

Vision, hearing, and health screeningprofessionals . May be asked to determineif sensory acuity or health difficulties arecontributing to, or causing, the studentsschool problems.

Parents . Share knowledge about the childsstrengths and needs. Provide informationabout the familys cultural background.Suggest strategies that have worked withthe child. Implement strategies in thehome.


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Outcomes of each intervention.

In addition, profiles of students that showprogress over a period of time should bekept. Such data allow administrators tocompare students maintained in generaleducation and/or referred to special educa-tion over the years to discover trends orneeds evident in the school.

Similarly, documentation should be kept onteachers who show patterns of difficulty withtheir students. Appropriate steps should

be taken whenever it is suspected that thesource of a students problem is ineffectiveinstruction or biased attitudes.

Making Available General EducationIntervention Strategiesand SupportsA successful prereferral intervention systemassumes that general education staff havethe instructional skills necessary to instructdiverse groups of learners. Familiarity and

knowledge of individual learning strengthsand needs is critical to effective instructionalpractices. Successful prereferral practicesassist instructional staff in carrying outrecommended interventions where needed.Interventions may lead to adjustments ininstructional methods and adaptations in thecurriculum that promote continued successfor students .

Prereferral intervention teams may considera wide range of instructional supports. Typesof classroom support that the professionalliterature suggests are important to the suc-

cess of African American students are: Differentiated curriculum that is appropriate

to all learners.

Instruction that is culturally relevant andculturally appropriat e.

Adaptation of instruction for a wide varietyof learning styl es within each cultural orethnic populatio n .

Experienced and culturally-competent gen-eral education personne l.

Individualized intervention strategies thatreflect students cultural context s.

Home-school-community collaboratio n .

Administrators also may want to reviewthese strategies with instructional and sup-port staff to determine sources of expertisewithin the school and larger community.

While it is beyond the scope of this docu-

ment to provide a full description of thesestrategies, administrators are encouraged toconsult the references in the bibliographysection for more information.

There are many levels of intervention,

however early intervention is most

important. Catch problems early and give

students intensive support.



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Ensuring Effective PrereferralIntervention Practices:RecommendationsFrom NABSEWhen reviewing prereferral interventionpractices for appropriateness, administra-tors may benefit from the following recom-mendations. The recommendations, if carried out, may prevent and/or reduceover-representation.

The recommendations were generated bythe NABSE focus groups, comprised of researchers and practitioners with expertisein educating African American students. Ineach case, recommendations have support inthe professional literature. While IDEA doesnot specify tasks that administrators mustperform, the NABSE recommendations sup-port administrators who assume leadershipfor developing and implementing prereferralintervention processes that address the needsof all children to progress in the general cur-riculum.


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Addressing Over-

Representation with aPrereferral InterventionProcess

RECOMMENDATIONS Extent to which we do this

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Administrators can establish prereferral interventionsystems to prevent and reduce over-representationof African American students in special educationby

Incorporating Effective Elements in Prereferral Intervention Practices

Develop a school and/or district-wide policy for the establish-ment of local school prereferral models.

Institute a school-based prereferral intervention program tobe used prior to referring students to special education.

Monitor the success of the prereferral approach.

Collect and compare annual data regarding the numbers of students maintained by general education prereferral supportefforts.

Monitor school and system-wide data to identify repeatreferrals.

Require intervention plans to address the diverse learningneeds and individual learning style of the child.

Identify a staff member to lead the prereferral interventionprocess.

Define staff members roles on prereferral teams.

Continued

*IDEA does not require the use of these recommendations.


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Incorporating Effective Elements in Prereferral Intervention Practices (continued)

Clarify the goal of the prereferral team. Keep the emphasis onprereferral and support for the student in general education,and not on eligibility for special education.

Provide administrative support and funding for: planning,staff training in team process and problem solving, releasetime for team meetings and consultations, and recordkeeping.

Involve parents as active participants in prereferral meetingsand encourage them to discuss culturally relevant concernsand suggestions for instructional supports.

Give parents clear information and feedback as to their roleand the purpose of the interventions for their child.

Develop minimal but efficient record keeping and adminis-trative procedures. Avoid burdensome paperwork.

Provide prereferral team members with research-based

information related to academic and behavioral prereferralinterventions.

Ensure consistency of interventions when students transfer ortransition to other schools or teachers.

Ensuring the Availability of General Education Strategies and Supports

Make sure the general education curriculum has addressedthe needs of all learners.

Devise a school operational plan that concentrates on indi-vidual achievement for all students.

Provide incentives for school staff members to develop exper-tise in successful intervention programs.

Continued


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Ensuring the Availability of General Education Strategies and Supports (continued)

Provide on-going, coherent professional development ontopics such as how to differentiate instruction, provide multi-level instruction, individualize instruction, and make instruc-tional accommodations.

Support teachers in using pedagogy that addresses diversestudent needs.

Make supports available. Develop a plan for using commu-nity and local agency supports, such as mental health ser-vices, the faith community, community health services, parentsupport groups, and preschool programs.

Provide professional development activities that enable par-ticipants to confront and overcome biases and attitudes thatmay hinder students learning.


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Administrators are the key to establishing the climate that exists in schools.They have the opportunity to create a school climate that is fair and equitableto the entire school communitystudents, teachers, support staff, relatedservice providers, parents, and community members. Students, parents, staff,faculty, and administrators all hold perceptionsincluding observations,feelings, impressions, and expectationsof the school. School climateencompasses these perceptions.

How does school climate affect the referral of African Americanstudents for special education?

School climate can markedly affect over-representation. Administrators, fac-ulty, and staff bring into the workplace their own assumptions, theories, andbeliefs about students. A school climate that respects individual differences andembraces diversity may contribute to the decline of students being referred tospecial education, thus reducing the numbers of African American studentsdisproportionately represented in special education.

Beyond understanding the role of climate in encouraging the capabilities andemphasizing the worth of individuals, administrators may wish to pay particularattention to those aspects related directly to respecting the educational needsof African American students. These are:

Eliminating harmful forms of bias.

Ensuring cultural competence.


Understandingthe Effect of School Climate


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Eliminating BiasEveryone has certain biases that can influ-ence decision making and actions. Problemsarise when biases are harmful to groups of individuals. For example, a harmful (andunfounded) bias may be that certain races of students have low intelligence. Such a biasmay result in low expectations for studentachievementwhich, in turn, research hasclearly and repeatedly shown is detrimentalto student achievement!

Administrators must be diligent in eliminat-ing practices in the school climate that resultin harmful biases and unfair expectations.Because individuals often are unaware of their biases, as well as the effect their nega-tive beliefs may be having on school climate,efforts must be made to help individualsbecome cognizant of unfounded biases. Inthe context of special education referral, opendiscussions related to perceptions of studentcultural backgrounds are necessary.

Ensuring CulturalCompetence Cultural competence assumes that indi-viduals are able to relate and communicateeffectively with individuals who do not sharethe same culture, ethnicity, and/or language.Individuals who are culturally responsivethink, feel, and act in ways that respectethnic, sociocultural, and linguistic diversity.

Administrators and staff members shouldrespond positively to all children, understand-ing the richness and limitations reflected bytheir own life experiences, as well as the lifeexperiences of the students they are teaching.Cultural competence is particularly impor-tant for African American students becausediscontinuities may exist between the childshome experience and the value structurestypical of many public schools. As a result

of the discontinuity, some educators maymisinterpret students actions or responsesas negative or problematic. Such reactionsoften alienate students from the rest of theschool and can make them prime candidatesfor referral out of the classroom.

Learn More About Addressing Bias Ac co rd in g to Lar so n an d Ov an do,Teachers, supervisors, and others bringto the classroom a variety of agendas,some public, many hidden, and probably most unknown, each of which has atelling impact on educational decision-making. Unfortunately, some of these lifeexperiences that staff and faculty bring

with them to the educational setting willmanifest themselves in the form of many unfounded biasessome of them inthe areas of student achievement, low expectations, and student intelligenceas they apply to race and discriminatory systems and practices that people havecreated, supported, and maintained over time.

From: Larson, C., & Ovando, C. (2001). The color of bureaucracy: The politicsof equity in multicultural schoolcommunities . Belmont, CA: ThomsonPublishing, Inc.


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The following elements are found in cultur-ally competent classrooms:

Culturally diverse student populationsare respected and responded to in naturalways.

Instructional staff acknowledge that studentsbenefit when they are given opportunities tofind relevant connections among themselvesand with the subject matter and the instruc-tional tasks.

Multicultural educational practices in whichstudents prior knowledge, cultural contextsand experiences, and learning styles aretaken into consideration.

Teachers and other service providers dem-onstrate knowledge and understanding of

how culture and life experience impact uponstudent learning.

Staff members possess adequate skillsand knowledge to work in multicultural

settings.In the context of school climate, culturalcompetence must be present in all stakehold-ers. If it is not, then NABSE recommendsthat administrators must consider culturalcompetence training for school personnelas a key component to improving academicoutcomes.

Administrators also must make cultural

competence a priority when hiring newstaff members. Efforts to recruit qualifiedstaff from diverse cultural and linguisticbackgroundsas well as those with multi-cultural and bilingual preparationshouldbe undertaken, especially in light of changingdemographics.

Understanding the Impact of

Discontinuity Researcher Brenda Townsend has shownthat the school climate may be inconsistent

with the environmental factors found in African American students homes. Thisdiscontinuity may manifest itself in behaviorsthat alienate students from the school. Theimplication of this cannot be understated.Using OCR data, Townsend found thata disproportionate number of African

American students were suspended andexpelled from school. Townsend pointsto culturally responsive instructional andmanagement strategies as means to mitigateschool suspensions and expulsions.

From: Townsend, B. (2000). The dis pro -portionate discipline of African Americanlearners: Reducing school suspensionsand expulsions. Exceptional Children,66(3), 381-391.

Become Knowledgeable About StandardsFor a review of standards related tomulticultural education and specialeducation, see What Every Special Educator Should Know: The International Standards

for the Preparation and Licensure of SpecialEducators . The guide, which includes elevencommon core items related to multiculturalskills and competencies, is available fromthe Council for Exceptional Children.Contact: CEC Constituent Services, 1-888-CEC-SPED.


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ImprovingSchool Climate:RecommendationsFrom NABSEWhen reviewing the school climate forsigns of bias and the presence of culturalcompetence, administrators may benefitfrom the following recommendations.The recommendations, if carried out, mayprevent and/or reduce over-representation.

The recommendations were generated by

the NABSE focus group, comprised of researchers and practitioners with expertisein educating African American students. Ineach case, recommendations have support inthe professional literature. While IDEA doesnot specify tasks that administrators mustperform, the NABSE recommendations sup-port administrators who assume leadershipfor continually encouraging a climate thatrecognizes the value of all individuals.

Use Staff Development To

Address Over-RepresentationResearcher James Patton reports thatoften teachers are faced with a limitedunderstanding of cultures and learningstyles different from their own. They mustalso face the consequences that a lack of cultural understanding will have ontheir students learning, Patton says. Staff development can be a useful strategy

for enhancing teachers understanding of other cultures. It can be a powerful tool

when used as a critical self-assessment or to engage in reflective practices of onescultural experiences.

From: Patton, J.M. (1998). The dis pro por -tionate representation of African Americansin special education: Looking behind thecurtain for understanding and solutions.

The Journal of Special Education, 32 (1),

2-31.


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Addressing Over-Representation ThroughSchool Climate


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Administrators can establish a positive schoolclimate that prevents and reduces the over-representation of African American students inspecial education by

Continued

Addressing Harmful Biases

Support school staff in accepting the responsibility for sup-porting achievement for all students.

Obtain membership in organizations that promote equitableeducation and provide instructional strategies for all students(e.g., NABSE, National Association for Bilingual Education)and prominently share materials obtained from such groupswith all stakeholders.

Discuss unfounded biases with staff membersand let staff members know that disrespectful responses to any child,regardless of cultural background, ethnicity, and/or socioeco-nomic status will not be tolerated on the school campus.

Ensuring Cultural Competence

Establish school and district-wide professional development

training in cultural competence.

Work with community members and institutions of highereducation to identify a cultural competence training programthat will meet the needs of your community.

Include students in school and district-wide professionaldevelopment on cultural competence.



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Ensuring Cultural Competence (continued)

Identify and use multiple assessment tools and strategies thatare research-based and culturally competent.

Provide school and district-wide training in the adminis-tration of assessment tools and methods that consider thestudents culture and background.

Assign personnel who are knowledgeable about studentscultures to conduct assessments.

Ensure that high stakes tests have been validated for the pur-

pose for which they are used and have been standardized onpopulations of students similar to your own.

Schedule visits to students homes and neighborhoods to learnmore about them and their cultures.

Provide training to employees before making home visits.

Include skills that demonstrate cultural competence onteachers exams for employment in your district.

Enlist the help of community members and higher educationpersonnel in developing standards and skills for school staff inbecoming culturally competent and assisting all students inaccessing the general curriculum.

Assign task forces to suggest ways staff members may retooltheir skills.

Tap into the expertise of community members who may beknowledgeable about African American and other culturesrepresented in your student population.

Encourage the state licensing agency to require course workin areas such as multicultural education, cultural competence,accessing the general education curriculum, and improvingstudent achievement for all students by improving instruc-tional strategies.

Hire personnel who demonstrate cultural competencies.


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Families offer a rich source of information about their children. Family-centered

approaches may hold promise for reducing the incidence of inappropriatelyreferred children and youth to special education by improving the appropri-ateness of their education and subsequent progress. Systemic support in theform of culturally competent and family-centered practicesas well as respectfor culturally-based child rearing practicesfacilitates family participation intheir childrens education.

How can family involvement prevent over-representation of African American students?

Family involvement is an important element in the prereferral interventionprocess. In the context of preventing over-representation, families are a valu-able source of information. Families may share relevant information abouttheir childrens culture that can assist school personnel in planning appropri-ate educational programs. Families also should be engaged in planning child-centered and family-centered interventions that can be carried out at homeand at school.

Administrators have an important role to play in helping school staff membersshow responsiveness to families of diverse cultural backgrounds. Steps should

be taken to involve families in their childrens education, including participa-tion in prereferral teams. A welcoming attitude by everyone in the school willencourage families to become involved.


Involving Families


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Communicating withFamilies About their Childs EducationalNeedsCommunication between families and schoolstaff should reflect an open interchange of information. School personnel should beresponsive to the cultural values and beliefsof families. Involvement of African Americanfamilies may be increased when school per-sonnel adjust their approaches to the familysbeliefs about disability, health, and healing;

respect the familys sense of propriety; andeliminate or reduce language barriers. It alsois important to recognize that African Ameri-can families may hold a nontraditional inter-pretation of school involvement that shouldbe respected. For example, many AfricanAmerican parents practice with their chil-dren home-based involvement, which mustbe affirmed before transitioning to school-based involvement.

Family involvement should be promotedearly in the childs school experience andmaintained throughout the middle and

high school years. Family members shouldbe informed continuously regarding positiveprogress in, as well as concerns with, the gen-eral education program. Family involvementshould not be initiated for the first time whenproblems emerge. Family members need toknow well in advance of a crisis that theremay be a problem.

Administrators also should include familiesin professional development opportunities.Family development and training may sup-port the parent in becoming a more effectiveadvocate for his or her own child.

Inviting Parents ToServe on PrereferralIntervention TeamsAs previously pointed out, parents should bemembers of prereferral teams and notifiedif their child is referred to a prereferralintervention team. They should be involvedin identifying the learning needs of theirchild and generating suggestions that reflectthe values of their family and culture.

Prereferral team members should makeefforts to perceive the intervention and sup-port process from the parents perspective.Administrators and teachers who listento parents concerns and respond in posi-tive ways build effective relationships thatsupport student progress. The members of the prereferral team should be diverse andtrained in communication techniques thatsupport cultural diversity.

On all levels, administrators can enhance

outreach into the community. In addition to

communicating with families, communicate

with community membersand engage them

in supporting student achievement.



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Improving Family Involvement:RecommendationsFrom NABSEWhen considering strategies to increasefamily involvement, administrators maybenefit from the following recommendations.The recommendations, if carried out, mayprevent and/or reduce over-representation.

The recommendations were generated bythe NABSE focus groups, comprised of researchers and practitioners with expertisein educating African American students. Ineach case, recommendations have support inthe professional literature. While IDEA doesnot specify tasks that administrators mustperform, the NABSE recommendations sup-port administrators who assume leadershipfor improving family involvement in theirchildrens education.


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Addressing Over-Representation by InvolvingFamilies


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Administrators can involve families in ways that

may prevent and reduce the over-representation of African American students in special education by

Continued

Communicating with Families About Their Childs Educational Needs

Develop effective, ongoing parent communication systems.

Improve and maintain communication with parents by rou-tinely reporting student accomplishments.

Provide professional development for school staff membersin effective communication skills with African American andother culturally diverse families.

Plan school and district-wide activities with input fromparents. Present district-wide opportunities for meaningfulinput from African Americans in the community concerningcurricula and school management.

Survey African American parents to gather their suggestionson ways to involve parents in their childs education (e.g.,written, telephone, face-to-face interview).

Cooperate with parents in finding effective ways for them tohelp their child in school.

Ensure that the school is welcoming, staff are accessible, andstaff understand and respect diverse family networks andchild rearing customs and practices.



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Communicating with Families About Their Childs Educational Needs (continued)

Support parent-to-parent advocacy approaches.

Involving Families in the Prereferral Intervention Process

Provide adequate information about the prereferral educationprocess to African American families in the language spokenin the home.

Educate families regarding IDEA and educational services asthey relate to prereferral.

Collaborate with Parent Training Information Centers (PTIs)in the community (when available) to provide joint training.

Talk with the family to learn about how members view dis-abilities, education in general, mental health, and discipline.

Recruit and maintain a resource list of culturally competentstaff and community contacts who can communicate effec-tively with parents.

Have a person familiar with the culture of the parent partici-pate on the prereferral team. If needed, provide an interpreterfor the prereferral meetings.

Develop a method of tracking parent conference outcomesand the percentage of parental participation.

Guide families to interagency resources that are availableto them (e.g., medical, mental health, social services, com-munity organizations, and advocates).


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As the 2000 U.S. Census indicates, the United States is a multiracial, multi-

ethnic society. In order for students to achieve to high standards, access to thegeneral education curriculum is essential. This means that all children, regard-less of cultural background, are provided with a challenging curriculum thataddresses their individual strengths and needs.

The overidentification of African American students for special education chal-lenges administrators to review their educational programs and make surethat they are serving the needs of all students. Administrators can do much toensure positive school outcomes for all studentsincluding African Americanstudents. As this guide has shown, this entails:

Establishing an appropriate prereferral intervention process to provide studentswith support that keeps them participating and progressing in the general educa-tion curriculum.

Understanding how the school climate may affect the educational progress of African American students.

Involving families and learning from them how to understand and respect theirchilds unique learning strengths, needs, and cultural background.

Administrators are encouraged to use this guide as they review their programsfor signs of inappropriate referrals and misidentification of African Americanstudents for special education. With the knowledge presented in this guide,it is possible for leaders to:

Help facilitate the development of a school improvement plan that addresses andgives credence to school and community stakeholders concerns.

Survey staff members to determine problematic issues and to plan professionaldevelopment activities to address them.

Provide school staff members with continuous cultural competency training.


Taking Action Where It IsNeeded


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Work collaboratively with central officeadministrators to make decisions aboutwhere to allocate fiscal support to improveinstructional practices.

Administrators may use the recommenda-tions offered by NABSE as a starting pointfor considering where they may need totake action. Share the recommendations, aswell as the following resources, with schoolpersonnel and parents. Consider piloting therecommendations in one or more schools andsharing successes with colleagues throughoutthe school district.

For legal, practical, and ethical reasons, inap-propriate special education referrals are notjustifiable and must be eliminated. As thisguide has shown, it can be done. It takes aknowledgeable and compassionate leader totake action and do what is right for children.It is NABSEs and ILIADs hope that thisguide has provided you with what you needto tackle any over-representation in specialeducation by ensuring an equitable educationfor African American students.


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References and contacts for organizations are presented in this section. In all

cases, the resource offers a more in-depth understanding of the over-repre-sentation of African American and other students in special education. Noendorsement of any resource by NABSE, ILIAD, or the federal governmentshould be inferred. IDEA does not require use of these resources.

Bibliography Artiles, A. (1998). The dilemma of difference: Enriching the disproportionality

discourse with theory and context. The Journal of Speci

Documents

Addressing Over Representation Africanamerican Guide