Bringing to life the voices of children, families, and school personnel, this bestseller describes in detail the school climates and social processes that place many children of color at risk of being assigned inappropriate disability labels. Now in its third edition, this powerful ethnographic study examines the placement of Black and Hispanic…

This article explores the difference between parental involvement, where parents' activity levels at school are primarily structured by schools, and parental engagement, where parents have a more active voice in how they take part in what goes on in schools. This difference is underscored as a means of illuminating ways of addressing the issue of…

This article reviews 15 qualitative studies examining factors contributing to the overrepresentation of minorities in special education. Eleven studies constituted numerical surveys of practitioner perspectives, with additional questions that were analyzed qualitatively. Four studies relied on face-to-face interviews or qualitative surveys,…

The "Brown" decision laid the foundation for accountability provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997, 2004) that require reporting of overrepresentation of students of color in special education. This article examines the issues surrounding this equity-focused legal reform that prioritized disproportionate…

The second edition of this powerful book examines the disproportionate placement of Black and Hispanic students in special education. The authors present compelling, research-based stories representing the range of experiences faced by culturally and linguistically diverse students who fall in the liminal shadow of perceived disability. They…

This article is in response to Dr. Jim Kauffman and colleagues' article titled "Problems Related to Underservice of Students With Emotional or Behavioral Disorders," which was published in volume 33, issue 1, of "Behavioral Disorders." The work referenced by Kauffman et al. was a report of a 4-year ethnographic study of the processes by which…

The main criterion for eligibility for special education services in schools has been proof of intrinsic deficit. There are two problems with this focus: First, defining and identifying high-incidence disabilities are ambiguous and subjective processes. Second, the focus on disability has become so intertwined with the historical devaluing of…

This article responds to recent calls for greater clarity and transparency regarding methods in qualitative research. On the basis of a 3-year ethnographic study of the overrepresentation of minorities in special education, the authors address key tenets of grounded theory and attempt to reconcile some of the methodological challenges inherent in…

A study involving 12 elementary schools investigated hiring and placement decisions of school district-level personnel and principals. Findings indicate inequities in the quality of leadership and instruction in the inner-city schools exacerbate efforts to reduce disproportionate placements of culturally and linguistically diverse children into…

This brief, also available in Spanish, defines the concept of overrpresentation, identifies possible causes for the problem, and offers a variety of ways that parents and families can help prevent or decrease overrpresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education programs. (Contains 2 tables.) [This brief was…

This reports offers a synthesis of the current knowledge and theoretical positions concerning the disproportionate representation of minorities in special education. It is divided into five broad sections: (1) an introduction which clarifies the terminology and purpose of the report; (2) an overview of the position of minority students in the…

In this article, we present a conceptual framework for addressing the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education. The cornerstone of our approach to addressing disproportionate representation is through the creation of culturally responsive educational systems. Our goal is to assist…