March 23, 2025 Story by: Editor
When California’s Mt. Diablo Unified School District was notified by the state education agency in 2021 about an overrepresentation of Black students with intellectual disabilities, it took an uncommon step in special education: it openly and widely shared the issue with its community.
The district actively sought input from parents, educators, and community members to understand the root causes of this disproportionality and identify potential solutions.
After months of analyzing data and gathering community feedback, the district uncovered key insights—including the fact that Black students and their families often felt excluded and undervalued within the school community, said Wendi Aghily, chief of pupil services and special education for the district.
This marked the start of a challenging but essential effort to prevent students from being misclassified in special education, she explained.
“When you get identified as significantly disproportionate you can look at it like we have to address this issue to get out of significant disproportionality — or you can look at it as we have to address this issue because it is wrong and so we set the tone from the very beginning,” Aghily stated.
In recent years, more school districts across the U.S. have been flagged for having racial disparities in special education. Data from the U.S. Department of Education indicates that between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 school years, the number of districts identified with “significant disproportionality” in special education nearly doubled.
Although the 825 districts in 39 states flagged for significant disproportionality in 2020-21 make up only 5% of districts nationwide, each case highlights ongoing inequities in education, according to disability rights and racial equity advocates.
“Regardless of whether it is four students or 10 students, they are still children who are being impacted by a system,” said María Hernández, author of Dismantling Disproportionality and deputy executive director of school change and community engagement at New York University’s Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools.
“There’s a long and deep history of sending a very sort of mixed message about the enforcement of the disproportionality provision,” said Daniel Losen, senior director for the education team at the National Center for Youth Law. Losen, who has studied the issue for decades, is also the co-author of Racial Inequity in Special Education.
Challenges in Addressing Disproportionality
As federal, state, and local entities work to address disparities in special education, some school districts have encountered resistance, skepticism, and even uncertainty about how to proceed.
Some fear that tackling disproportionality could subject them to heightened scrutiny, particularly in an era of intensified racial discourse. Additionally, there is widespread confusion regarding the complex federal guidelines for measuring significant disproportionality, with the government itself historically providing inconsistent directives.
The Rising Numbers
Nine states reported that over 10% of their districts had been flagged for racial disproportionality in special education during the 2020-21 school year. Data also shows a steady increase in the percentage of districts identified with significant disproportionality since 2015.
Why This Work Matters
Assessing racial disparities in special education is one of the most complex tasks for administrators, but many argue it is among the most crucial.
Failing to identify students who need special education services can deprive them of necessary interventions and support, causing academic setbacks and reducing their chances of earning a regular diploma. Conversely, overidentification—particularly of students of color—has been linked to higher suspension and expulsion rates, exacerbating achievement gaps and contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline.
Advocates highlight the troubling trend of Black students with disabilities being disproportionately suspended or expelled. Data from the Education Department for the 2017-18 school year— the latest available for comparison—shows that while Black students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act comprised approximately 2.3% of total student enrollment, they accounted for 6.2% of in-school suspensions and 8.8% of out-of-school suspensions, nearly quadrupling their overall representation.
The growing recognition of these disparities underscores the need for continued efforts to ensure that all students receive fair and equitable educational opportunities.
Source: K12 Dive
