This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Skiba, R. J. Articles by Chung, C.-G. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Skiba, R. J. Articles by Chung, C.-G. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Unproven Links

Can Poverty Explain Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education?

Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University, Skiba{at}indiana.edu

Lori Poloni-Staudinger

Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University

Ada B. Simmons

Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University

L. Renae Feggins-Azziz

Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University

Choong-Geun Chung

Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University

The high degree of overlap of race and poverty in our society has led to the presumption in both research and practice that ethnic disproportionality in special education is in large measure an artifact of the effects of poverty. This article explores relationships among race, poverty, and special education identification to arrive at a more precise estimate of the contribution of poverty to racial disparities. District-level data for all 295 school corporations in a midwestern state were analyzed for this study. Records included information on disability category, general and special education enrollment by race, socioeconomic level, local resources, and academic and social outcomes for 1 school year. Simple correlations among the variables demonstrate that correlations between race and poverty of even moderate strength do not guarantee that the 2 variables will function in the same way with respect to outcome variables, such as identification for special education services. Results of regression analyses indicate that poverty makes a weak and inconsistent contribution to the prediction of disproportionality across a number of disability categories. On the other hand, rates of suspension and expulsion consistently predict district rates of special education disproportionality. Inconsistent relationships between special education disproportionality and achievement may indicate a developmental trend in the systemic contribution to racial disparity. Ideal-type analyses examining race— poverty relationships indicate that where poverty makes any contribution above and beyond race in predicting disability identification, its primary effect is to magnify existing racial disparity.

The Journal of Special Education, Vol. 39, No. 3, 130-144 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/00224669050390030101


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Strand and G. Lindsay Evidence of Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education in an English Population Journal of Special Education, November 1, 2009; 43(3): 174 - 190. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. J. Artiles and A. Bal The Next Generation of Disproportionality Research: Toward a Comparative Model in the Study of Equity in Ability Differences Journal of Special Education, May 1, 2008; 42(1): 4 - 14. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. O'Connor and S. D. Fernandez Race, Class, and Disproportionality: Reevaluating the Relationship Between Poverty and Special Education Placement Educational Researcher, August 1, 2006; 35(6): 6 - 11. [Abstract] [PDF]