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Introduction: What is Overrepresentation?

For years, there has been discussion about racial minorities being given adequate supports, without being held back from their full potential, in school special education (SPED) programs. Fingers have been pointed at racially biased testing procedures, lack of general education classroom teacher support for students of color, and societal factors that may be causing students of color to need more support in the classroom, among other factors. In order to understand all of this, it is important to clarify the difference between overrepresentation and underrepresentation, and the issues that both cause. Kristen Harper and Edward Fergus, in their article “Overrepresentation of Black Students in Special Education,” define overrepresentation as, “circumstances in which a racial or ethnic group has greater representation in special education than in the general population.” The same authors define overidentification as, “any situation where a child is inappropriately identified with a disabi
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What is the Issue with Overrepresentation?

Pulling from the vast array of causes and issues when looking at representation of students of color in special education programs, two main issues, and three main causes can be identified. According to Harper and Fergus, many children of color are currently receiving not enough assistance, or too much assistance. For students not receiving the services they need, it could be because schools are trying to avoid going over a recommended percentage of children of color in their SPED programs, teachers don’t observe student needs or recognize that there is a problem larger than the common excuse, “the student doesn’t want to learn”. For children receiving too much support, there could be cultural differences that have led teachers and other education professionals to believe that a child has a disability, when in fact they are just behind their peers or speak using a different dialect. Both issues are detrimental because all these students miss out on resources that would give them the gr
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Importance: Why Should We Care?

For teachers, this issue will be very prevalent in our careers, and it is important to recognize both why this issue is important, and the role of teachers in combatting it. General Education Teachers are the first “line of defense” between students and an incorrect diagnosis that might constrict them or fail to provide for them. Teachers are typically the adults to request screening of individuals for disabilities, and they are the first ones to be asked about how a student acts in the classroom, which could impact that student’s eventual diagnosis or resources. Additionally, it is important for teachers to recognize this issue, so that they can use their power in the evaluation process to question assumptions or generalizations about students that might otherwise be used to determine their supports. General Education Teacher voices are extremely important in the evaluation process for Special Education, and it is important that teachers know the value of their viewpoint in this proce
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Moving Forward: What can Teachers Do?

As a future teacher myself, I recognize the importance of fighting against this issue and I plan to make an active effort toward making sure all students get the resources they need, but aren’t held back from greatness by misidentification. While recognizing and learning about this issue is a good step forward, I think there are also concrete changes and action steps that general education teachers and future teachers can take to work toward combatting the issue of overrepresentation. First, teachers need to recognize the racial bias they bring to the classroom, which, if it isn’t addressed, will negatively impact how they see and treat students of color. It is also important for teachers to know each of their students individually, regardless of whether students have a disability, building an understanding of how students learn, what challenges they might face outside of academics, what motivates them, and what is important to them. When teachers have a deeper understanding of student
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References

Shelton, Hilary and Hahi, Thomas. “Blacks Overrepresented in Special Education”. Interview by who?? National Public Radio, 4 Dec. 2007, https://www.npr.org/2007/12/04/16879325/blacks-overrepresented-in-special-education .   Gordon, Nora. “Race, Poverty, and Interpreting Overrepresentation in Special Education.” Brookings , 20 Sept. 2017, https://www.brookings.edu/research/race-poverty-and-interpreting-overrepresentation-in-special-education/ .   Kreskow, Kelly. “Overrepresentation of Minorities in Special Education.” St. John Fisher University , Apr. 2013, https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1258&context=education_ETD_masters#:~:text=Overrepresentation%20of%20minorities%20in%20special%20education%20is%20a%20growing%20problem,students%20can%20cause%20this%20overrepresentation .   Harper, Kristen, and Fergus, Edward. “Overrepresentation of Black Students in Special Education.” Child Trends , 12 Oct. 2017, https://www.childtrends.org/blog/policymakers-cannot-ignore
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