Diagnosing Education Over-Identification 2011

Disproportional placement of at-risk children in American special education programs – the over-identification problem — is part of a historical pattern to block unwanted children from school participation.  It dates back to the beginning of compulsory education in the 1920s. The premise of efforts to reduce over-identification should be the view that many Americans do [...]

Castle Solution

In May of 2003, and just prior to IDEA reauntorizaitons, Heartland reviewed recommendations made by House Education Reform Subcommittee Chairman Michael Castle (R-Delaware). He noted that “current methods of identifying children with disabilities lack validity or reliability.” The committee proposed reforms in a 292 page proposal, The Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act. [...]

Heinz Solution

Joe Smydo, writing for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (October 23, 2009), reported on a major study of the effects of pre-kindergarten classes on the early education of poor and developmentally-delayed children vulnerable for special education placement. The study lasted three years and involved 10,000 children. Results indicated a boost in the development of social and academic [...]

Massachusetts Solution

Matthew Deninger looks at special education and race in Massachusetts, the problem of “disproportionality.” “Despite these positive trends and obvious success stories, there are aspects of the special education system where much work remains. Disproportionality is one of those areas.” Mitigating strategies are mentioned: 1. Awareness of bias within the IEP Team: “Are students from [...]

Alaska Solution

Consistent with IDEA 2004, The State of Alaska published “legal citations” for evaluation and eligibility of special education pupils. “States must have in effect policies and procedures designed to prevent inappropriate overidentification or disproportionate representation by race or ethnicity of children with disabilities, including particular disability categories (Alaska).  Disproportionality refers to the overrepresentation/overidentification or under [...]

Gordon Solution

The over-identification of learning disability raises questions about the critical role of the reading specialist. IDEA 2002 indicates: “At least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of children, such as a school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, or remedial reading teacher.” Can reading specialists contribute to reducing LD misidentification? Here is one successful story. David [...]

Collins Solution

JoAnn Collins is concerned about the over-idenfication of minority children, a problem that has persisted since IDEA was originated: “In 1975 when the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed Congress found that poor African-American children were being placed in special education much more often than other children. These difficulties continue today. In the [...]

Texas Solution

Write and Bankston (ASHA Leader, 2009) filed a report on the Texas solution to over-identification. The Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (TSHA) launched an SLP training project in conjunction with the Texas Education Agency. Guidelines for identifying students with speech and language impairments were developed and used for a state-wide training program. “The effort began in 1999 [...]