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Article:

Impact of Special Education Policies on Minorities w.r.t

Theories of Labelling & Punctuated Equilibrium

by

Jacques Houssou

08/18/2022

MPhil, Walden University, 2021

MBA, University of Leicester, 2004

Impact of Special Education Policy on Minorities

United States Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has conducted hundreds of compliance reviews and surveys till now which indicate that minorities are overrepresented in special education programs. The reports have also indicated that teachers usually refer minorities to special education not white students despite their similar circumstances, minorities are placed in separate classes whereas white students attend regular classes, and class tests for minorities are different from white students (Gould, 2007). The special education act IDEIA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 2004) calls for the least restrictive environment for all individuals with special needs or disabilities but certain minorities such as African Americans and Hispanic Americans are placed under more restrictions by labeling their special education needs more frequently and exclusively (Kreskow, 2013). According to Becker’s theory of labeling (1963), “deviance from mean is a consequence of labels or external discernment and it can change the individual’s self-perception and change the way how others recognize that person and respond to his needs under that label” (Becker, 1963). This implies that labeling children with special educational needs may lead to discrimination and stigmatization.

Children from minority groups are more prone to face stigmatization and discrimination that stems from labeling their special educational needs as the categorization based on medical diagnoses are typically stereotyped with minorities. Labeling African Americans in special education can be counterproductive and disadvantageous as they are often over-labeled or disproportionately represented in categories of learning disabilities and psychological disorders. African Americans are already considered an inferior race in the white majority country and over-labeling the children further with disabilities and intellectual disorders have strengthened the prejudices, and biases held against them (Gold, 2012). In 2009, US Commission on Civil Rights reported that the high school graduation rate among African American students labeled with disabilities was 36.2, the lowest for any minority group (Morgan, 2020).

    The provision of special education services in the education sector has undergone a significant amount of change and growth. From declaring segregation of African American students with special needs unconstitutional in 1954 to categorizing and labeling the educational needs of people with disabilities through IDEIA in 1997, the special education policies have changed drastically. But since then, there is slow to no change in the special education policies, although the minorities are facing negative consequences of labeling and it is impacting their success rate. The punctuated Equilibrium theory of public policy making requires that there must be a gradual change in the policies to keep a balance between the special and general needs of the policy (True, 2019). This balance in special education policies for minorities can be created by addressing the overrepresentation and segregation of minorities in special education. Reports from the Department of Education indicate that some special education schools which have the majority of African Americans provide low-quality education compared to those where whites are in majority. Whereas, it has become difficult for African American students to get into good quality special education schools because of their dual labeling based on ethnicity and disability (Gold, 2012).

African Americans have faced racial labeling for a long so, and over-labeling them with learning and intellectual disabilities will only increase the challenges for them. Districts and schools should use evidence-based intervention strategies while referring students to medical or special needs evaluation. Also, the degree of restrictiveness in the special education environment should be eased to give equal chances for development and growth to all races.

References

Becker, H. S. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the sociology of deviance. New York: Simon and

Schuster Books.

Gold, M. E., & Richards, H. (2012). To Label or Not to Label: The Special Education Question

for African Americans. Educational Foundations, 26, 143-156.

Gould, M. (2007). Minorities in special education: A briefing before the United States

commission on civil rights (Briefing Report). Retrieved December 14, 2009.

Kreskow, K. (2013). Overrepresentation of minorities in special education.

Morgan, H. (2020). Misunderstood and mistreated: Students of color in special education.

Voices of Reform, 3(2), 71-81

True, J. L., Jones, B. D., & Baumgartner, F. R. (2019). Punctuated-equilibrium theory:

explaining stability and change in public policymaking. In Theories of the policy process (pp. 155-187). Routledge.