The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs collects data on how states implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act through the mandated State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR). Some indicators in the SPP/APR require state educational agencies (SEAs) to report data by race and ethnicity.…

The rights of approximately seven million students with disabilities in the United States are secured via the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Despite these protections, consequential inequities still need to be addressed. Racialized inequities in special education outcomes persist across classifications, placements, and…

This mixed methods case study utilized institution theory, along with liberatory consciousness and DisCrit, to examine the ableist and racist ideologies about Black students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) perpetuated by the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), particularly within a predominantly…

Purpose: This study aimed to determine if eligibility for special education and related services (SERS) in New Jersey (NJ) is biased based on a child's racial/ cultural background or socioeconomic status (SES). Method: A Qualtrics survey was administered to NJ child study team personnel including speech-language pathologists, school psychologists,…

Informed by austerity politics, struggling school districts have closed buildings to pursue cost savings. We investigate the factors affecting which schools are shuttered, proposing that the share of students with an Individualized Education Program (SIEP) influences the way building utilization is measured because of the different instructional…

Students are struggling with mental health difficulties that impact their ability to learn while in school, and many students lack access to mental health providers in their communities. School administrators are in a prime position to lead systemic change aimed at supporting student mental health. The purpose of this paper is to provide secondary…

Disproportionality persists with regard to the labeling of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A blending of critical race theory and disability studies, or DisCrit, provides a framework to examine disproportionality. In this article, a DisCrit mindset is applied to examine how racism and ableism intersect to disproportionately…

This position paper examines the intersectionality of race and disability and the impact on inclusive postsecondary educational (PSE) opportunities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Based on a history of segregation and oppression those who are Black and those who have an intellectual disability (ID) share many of the same…

Agran and colleagues have not only summarized the research on inclusive education, but they have also summed up the frustrations of many of us who have been working with families, teachers, and administrators to facilitate the inclusion of children and young adults with severe disabilities over many years. My response takes some of their most…

Purpose: The purpose of this review article is to conduct a critical analysis of state-level policies focusing on the provision of speech-language therapy and special education to children and youth who are racialized emergent bilinguals (REBs) suspected or labeled as dis/abled. Method: We analyzed the state-level policies focusing on…

This article briefly responds to the following question: Why aren't more students with severe disabilities being placed in general education classrooms? I offer five reasons why more students with severe disabilities are not included, because: (a) ableism persists, (b) schools continue to misapply the least restrictive environment provisions of…

When either privileged or under-resourced families navigate gray areas in the law, including federal laws related to students with disabilities such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, inequities are revealed. Research and emerging trends have raised increasing concerns about unfairness and abuses of disability policies, particularly with…

This article draws parallels between the concept of "Black lives matter" and the efforts of caregivers to advocate for the value of the lives of their children who have disabilities. The authors identify three key concepts that undergird their argument: first, the concept of systemic bias as built in to the hierarchical valuing of…

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…