The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ([IDEA] 2004; IDEA Amendments 1997) is a civil rights--based law designed to protect the rights of students with disabilities in U.S. schools. However, decades after the initial passage of IDEA, racial inequity in special education classifications, placements, and suspensions are evident. In this…

In this article, we draw from a larger qualitative study to examine how racial encounters are experienced for three non-Black members in a university-based historically-Black student organization. Using the idea of community-as-difference, we present three findings that break open assumptions about racial coexistence: the importance of being…

This study examines food insecurity in a novel population: health professions students. Their academic success has a unique impact on our nation's future health care system. We administered a 39-question survey, including open-ended questions that were coded for qualitative analyses, to 2,853 students to delineate the scope of this problem and…

There is a clear and well-documented link between physical activity (PA) and health. However, many youth do not participate in the recommended levels of PA in order to gain health benefits. Given the health disparities among urban youth, specifically among African American youth, and mindful of the lack of data for Arab Americans, the purpose of…

This exploratory study examined race/ethnicity, income, and employment status (including underemployment specifically) as predictors of relational distress for members of a couple in a predominantly low-income, historically marginalized racial-ethnic (HMRE) background sample (N = 671 couples). Results of a dyadic multiple regression using…

Pursuing a college degree--and the open future for young adults it is believed to secure--anchors what it means to be middle class in the United States today. Acting on the conviction that the rising generation can and should do better than their parents is a middle-class inheritance, and getting young adults to and through college is at the heart…

The racial differences in student loan debt must be interpreted through a lens of wealth building inequality. Black individuals in particular are negatively affected by official and unofficial policies that create barriers to building wealth. Financial aid policies then exacerbate this inequality with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula…

Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) 10 subtest primary battery was evaluated across sex, age (6-8, 9-11, 12-14, and 15-16 year-olds), and three diagnostic (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and encephalopathy) groups within a large clinical sample (N = 5359) referred to a…

In December 2020, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education released projections for future high school graduating classes in its 10th edition of "Knocking at the College Door" [ED610996]. At the time, it was unknown whether or not the projections based on pre-pandemic data would match the reality to come. This report…

This Research Brief summarizes the performance of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) students participating in the Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) Program. Cambridge courses and assessments were offered at 16 MDCPS high schools in 2020-2021. Over 13,600 assessments were completed by M-DCPS students in 34…

This high rate of test-day absenteeism is concerning. The ACT test is an important step in the college-going process, with over 1,500 colleges across the US either requiring, recommending, or considering test scores as a criterion for admission decisions. Fee waivers are intended to remove the financial burden of taking the test, thus potentially…

In California, Black students have markedly lower academic achievement than their White peers and Black students are also more likely to experience exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions (Cano, 2020, Losen & Martinez, 2020). What can be done to mitigate these racial disparities in schools? In this brief, we investigate whether increasing…

This dissertation explores the social, institutional, and structural conditions believed to be at the center of the racial disparities that influence access and participation within secondary and post-secondary environments of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. More specifically, this study investigates the…

Parents play a central role in their child's development and learning. Parents of children with developmental disabilities have the added challenge of wading through additional services and engaging with professionals to support this process. As families navigate the educational system, this journey includes engaging with a team of people to…

Scholars have conducted numerous studies examining the experiences of Black undergraduate students, especially those at historically and predominantly white institutions (HPWIs). These studies have included the development and application of a variety of racial identity models in the context of higher education, and this dissertation project…