This study investigates the impact of states' adoption of Response to Interventions (RTI) on the identification and placement of students in special education. RTI, adopted by the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2004, is designed to improve the identification and support of children with learning disabilities…

This second of six briefs analyzing data from the U.S. Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), covering the 2020-21 school year, explores enrollment of students with disabilities by race, gender, English proficiency, and primary disability to gain a fuller picture of educational equity. It is recognized that such categories can, at times, conceal as…

This case demonstrates how school administrators' development of intersectional competence can disrupt racial inequity in special education. Intersectional competence refers to educators' preparedness to recognize how schooling is implicated in multiple, intersecting systems of oppression, collaborate with relevant stakeholders who themselves…

This position paper identifies the complexity of the special education teacher (SET) shortage and the social injustices of the already marginalized population of students with disabilities (SWD). Nationally, policy reforms and teacher certification initiatives may have unknowingly perpetuated the shortage of SET in an attempt to increase the…

The annual National Deafblind Child Count is the world's first and longest-running count of children who are deafblind. Begun in 1986 on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, it represents a collaborative effort between the National Center on Deafblindness (NCDB) and state deafblind projects throughout the country, including those in the…

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is required, under Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill (E2SSB) 5315 (2023), to submit an annual report to the Legislature regarding the placement of students receiving special education services at entities known as nonpublic agencies (NPAs). As of December 2023, there are 94 NPAs…

There is a growing emphasis to improve underserved students' academic, social-emotional, and career development as schools strive to deliver comprehensive student services. The purpose of this study is to explore urban high school students' perspectives on improving academic and counseling services. The results and implications for educational…

More students with disabilities are present on higher education campuses. This study examines enacted legislation of the 50 United States throughout an 11-year period of students with disabilities in higher education. Racialization of disability and representation in states' legislation is examined. As the student body expands on higher education…

The Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) is the State Lead Agency for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C program for Washington State. Within DCFY, the Part C programmatic home is the Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT) program. During Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2017, the ESIT program held contracts…

The overrepresentation of Black students in special education, particularly in the most restrictive educational placements, is well documented in the literature. In addition, Black students are disproportionately placed into far more segregated educational spaces than their same-aged White peers with similar dis/ability labels. With limited…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention for enhancing the language development of young children enrolled in home visiting programs. The participants were 59 children (18-30 months old) enrolled in one of three types of home visiting programs. Children's language…

Race-specific time trends in Autism Spectrum Disorder prevalence are tracked among 3-5 year-olds and 8 year-olds identified by the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, respectively. White ASD prevalence historically has been higher than other racial groups…

Exclusionary discipline practices in the United States are used disproportionately in the punishment of Black students with a disability compared to White and Black students with or without a disability. One potential mechanism leading to the disproportionate use of exclusionary discipline is a process called 'manifestation determination reviews'…

Traditional conceptualizations of parent involvement are applied in paradoxical ways to Black families -- schools ostensibly seek families' participation in schooling, while positioning multiply-marginalized Black families as deficient and disregarding their contributions. This article explores the experiences of Black families of Black girls…

To assist parents of children with disabilities with navigating the special education system, the Individuals With Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) established Parent Training and Information (PTI) Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRC) in each state. However, little is known about the 103 total Parent Centers currently operating…