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 students and their learning patterns, it can give them the knowledge to more accurately know and advocate for what supports the student needs. Since teachers play a role in the process of evaluating students for SPED programs, it is extremely important for them to use their voices in advocating for individual students, observing if supports actually help students succeed, and making sure all students are held to high standards. Additionally, it is important for teachers to use their voices for challenging broader laws and school system policies for the evaluation process. Continually fighting for more funding to be put toward schools, more trained professionals to be involved in evaluation, and better resources to be offered to students will begin to help combat this systemic issue. Furthermore, it is important for all general education teachers to learn about special education practices, and to be familiar with their schools SPED programs and what resources are available to students. 

Finally, making structural changes in schools and improving the diversity of teaching and equity of resources, would benefit all students and combat this issue. Kelly Kreskow states that one of the factors contributing to the issue of overrepresentation is poor general education classroom instruction, that ends up being more exclusive to students with learning differences, who are then sent into special education programs that aren’t adequately equipped to support them and end up holding students back from success. If changes are made to improve general education classroom instruction, by making it more accessible to all students, giving students extra special education supports won’t be necessary as often, because the differentiated instruction in their general education classroom will be enough to equip them to succeed. Special Education Programs themselves could also be improved to make sure that all students are in the learning environment that restricts them the least, rather than schools just using resource rooms as a place to “send” students who aren’t cooperating in the general education classroom. Moving forward, if general education and special education teachers work together with community members and school leaders, we can all work to combat the issue of overrepresentation of minority races in special education programs by taking steps in our classrooms and the larger community.