Race, Gender, Socioeconomic

Status & Special Education Law

Elena Groen, Briana Lopez, Ivette Merced and Christina Phabsomphou

Chapman University
November 9, 2018
 Agenda

◉ Historical Background
◉ Core Issues
○ Intersectionality & Disproportionality
○ Race, Gender, SES
■ Transgender youth
◉ Case Law
◉ RIOT Model
○ Solutions to problems & application in schools

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 A little bit of background...
1896 1947
Plessy v. Ferguson Mendez v. Westminster
Established the “separate First case which
but equal” doctrine segregation in education
was successfully
challenged in federal court
1954 1964
Brown v. Board of Civil Rights Act of 1964
Education of Topeka
Established the precedent Segregation on the grounds
that “separate-but-equal” of race, religion or national
education and other origin was NO longer
services were not equal allowed.
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Larry P v. Riles (1979)

● Prohibited the use of intelligence tests to place African American students

in special education
● Result of cultural bias found in IQ tests
● Disportionately placed in special education
● It’s a ban, NOT a law

4
 Core Issues
Intersectionality, Disproportionality, Race, SES and
Gender

5
Intersectionality

Socioeconomic
Status

Gender Race

6
Disproportionality
“Overrepresentation or
underrepresentation of a particular
student group within a setting or
outcome of interest, given that groups
proportion in the total population”

(Dever, B. V., Raines, T. C., Dowdy, E., & Hostutler,

C.,2016) 7
 Race and Special Education

African Americans ELL students are

African American and Latinos were overidentified in
59.8%
Of students students are 2 to 3 2 to 4 X ED, ID, and SLD
classified as SLD X more likely to more likely to be and
are Latino/Hispanic be identified as ED referred by teachers placed in more
or ID for problem restrictive settings
behaviors

(National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2014; Cohen, 2015;

Skiba, Horner, Chung, Rausch, May and Tobin 2011) 8
 Socioeconomic Status and Special
Education

Due to limited
❏ Teachers that serve many low-
funding and other
income and minority students Children from low-
factors, children in
are often less qualified income families are
poverty receive
❏ Not a clear connection almost twice as
comparatively
between SES and Special likely to qualify
Education for special education
fewer services
than those with
higher SES

(Dever, B. V., Raines, T. C., Dowdy, E., & Hostutler, C.,

2016;Hehir et al., 2014; Pasachoff, 2011; Lankford et al,
2002 & Darling-Hammond, 2007) 9
Gender and Special Education

Ratio Males spend more

Females identified
1.5-3.5 males for time outside of later and have
every 1 female general education greater levels of
settings disability

(Dever, B. V., Raines, T. C., Dowdy, E., & Hostutler, C.,

2016) 10
How did we get here?
● Impact of resources/income
● Cultural mismatch - teacher expectation v. student behaviors
● Student & family situations
● Referral process (3 steps)

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Referral Process

1. 2. 3.
Opportunity to learn Decision-making Quality of special
prior to referral process (during and education services if
after) placed

(Ahram, R., Fergus, E., & Noguera, P., 2011) 12

1 Case Law
Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v.
Rowley (1982)
Endrew F. v. Douglas City School District (2017)
Student v. Arcadia Unified School District (2011)

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Endrew F. v. Douglas City School
District (2017)

Endrew F. -
The Rowley same goals and
Court Ruling
Standard objectives
carried over

(O'Brien, S. K., 2018)

14
 How Does Endrew F v. Douglas
City Relate to our topic?
◉ “A school must offer an
IEP reasonably calculated
to enable a child to make
appropriate progress in
light of the child’s
circumstances.”
◉ Make progress
commensurate to abilities
◉ Measurable & meaningful
◉ Important to focus on IEP
goals and progress
monitoring
(Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District,
2017) 15
Student v. Arcadia Unified School
District (2011)
● Discrimination against a
transgender middle school
student
● Transitioning from female to
male
● Changed for P.E. in nurses
office and isolated in overnight
field trip
● Resulted in district referring to
the student as male
● District creating training for a
safe nondiscriminatory school
and learning environment
● Prevented gender-based
discrimination
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 Federal Law vs. California Law and
2
Transgender Students
Policy Implications

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What do we need to know about
Transgender students, law and
policy?

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Transgender Statistics: Understanding What Students Experience

When experienced
64% of students 44% of students harassment or
feel unsafe at school feel unsafe at school assault, 60% did
because of sexual because of gender not report the
orientation prejudice expression incident to school
staff

(Kosciw, Greytak, Bartkiewicz, Boesen, & Palmer, 2012) 19

Why Do Transgender
Issues Matter in Schools?

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 Dear Colleague Letter

On February 22, 2017 a Joint action by the U.S.

Department of Education and the U.S. Department of
Justice outlined the Trump Administrations intentions to
revoke federal guidelines adopted by the Obama
administration in May 2016 to protect the rights of
transgender students at schools by allowing them to use the
bathrooms and locker rooms matching their chosen gender
identity.

(United States Department of Education, 2017) 21

 California February 22, 2017 Press Release:
Chief Tom Torlakson

State Schools: Chief Reminds Californians that State Law Protects

Transgender Students’ Rights

“In 2013, California became the first
state in the nation to enshrine certain
rights for transgender K–12 students
in state law, including the right to
choose the bathroom or locker room
consistent with their gender identity.”
Transgender students are protected in
California under AB 1266 which was
signed into law by Governor Brown
and created protections for
transgender students.

(Citation) 22
 October 22, 2018
NASP PRESS RELEASE
NASP Affirms Support for Civil Rights Protections of
Transgender People in Title IX
The National Association of School
Psychologists (NASP): In their Press Release
said they were dismayed by recent media reports
that the Trump Administration is considering a
proposal to roll back civil rights for transgender
people by redefining sex under Title IX as solely
and irrevocably male or female at birth.
Such a change would be detrimental to the 2
million individuals who identify as transgender
or gender diverse in our nation.

(NASP, 2018) 23
 How Can we Support Transgender
Students?

● Advocating for gender-neutral spaces and helping ● Minimizing bias by using phrasing and pronouns that

establish safe zones are not gender specific and by avoiding gender

● Seeking additional training or supervision as needed stereotypes

to support diverse populations ● Providing counseling and attending to the social–emotional

● Providing staff training to increase awareness needs of diverse students in school

regarding transgender issues in the schools ● Acquiring and providing information on community

● Responding to bullying, intimidation, and other agencies that provide services and supports to the

forms of harassment whether perpetrated by students community and support for parents and families

or staff ● Supporting or contributing to research regarding best

practices for integrating transgender and gender diverse
students in school

(NASP)
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 What Can You Do At Your School to Support
Transgender Students?

Surveys such as the: Gay, Lesbian

and Straight Education Network
National School Climate Survey
(GLSEN, 2009)

(GLSEN/NCTE, 2011) 25
 Example

NASP: District and School Transgender

and Gender Diverse Readiness
Assessment Form:

Purpose of the assessment

To review systemic strengths and areas of

need pertaining to including and
supporting transgender and gender
diverse students.

(Todd A. Savage, Ph.D., Minnesota, CSP, University of Wisconsin-River

Fall;Heidi Springborg, MA, EdS2, NCSP, University of Wisconsin-River
Falls;Leslie Lagerstrom, B.B.A.Edina) 26
The RIOT Model
(Race, Gender, SES Disproportionality)

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The RIOT Model

R ecord Review

I nterview

O bservation

T esting

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 T
RIO
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How can RIOT address
these core issues?
(Race, Gender, SES Disproportionality)

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 Best Practices
Universal Screeners
systematic assessment given to
all students in a given population
to identify those at risk
Interview
Collecting information from
parent, teacher, student, and other
staff/service providers to
supplement existing information
Referral
Utilizing a data-based driven
model to inform the process
Observation
intentional
Multiple settings, different days,
times, subject matter and multiple
observers (inter-rater)
Record Review
Reviewing data and history to get
a comprehensive understanding of
the student
Testing
Collecting and interpreting data
from standardized assessments to
support identification/placement
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 (AEA 11 Program Manual, 2000)
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 Case Study
Jacob is a healthy, 2nd grade, African American student. His mother
requested a full psychoeducational assessment due to ongoing
academic difficulties. Utilizing the RIOT model, the following
information was gathered. Jacob attends school regularly and struggles
in ELA and math. His father passed away in December 2017. SST was
conducted in February 2018 to address his academic concerns. His
mother remarried in earlier this year and is currently expecting.

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Per Larry P. Mandate, no intellectual (IQ) assessment instruments were utilized. An alternative
instrument, The Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning – Second Edition (WRAML-
2) was used instead. Jacob’s overall ability to retain information and learn, as estimated by the
WRAML-2, falls within the high average range (General Memory Index = 101). His strength
lies in his visual memory, falling within the average range (Visual Memory Index = 97). His
verbal memory falls within below average parameters (Verbal Memory Index = 85). Jacob
exhibits strength in his ability to focus and attend to tasks, as evidenced in his performance on
the Attention/Concentration (SS=120).

Results from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-3), which
measures academic achievement, indicate that Jacob’s academic abilities range from the very
low to average range.

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 36

“Do the best you can until you know

better. Then, when you know better do
better”
Maya Angelou

“
Thanks!
Any questions?

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 References
Ahram, R., Fergus, E., & Noguera, P. (2011). Addressing racial/ethnic disproportionality in special education: Case studies of suburban school districts. Teachers
College Record, 113, 2233-2266.
Cohen, D. R., Burns, M. K., Riley-Tillman, C., Hosp, J. L. (October, 2015) Are Minority students under- or overrepresented in Special Education? National Association
of School Psychologists : Communique, 44(2).
Darling-Hammond, L. (2007). The flat earth and education: How America's commitment to equity will determine our future. Educational Researcher, 36(6), 318-334.
Dever, B. V., Raines, T. C., Dowdy, E., & Hostutler, C. (2016). Addressing disproportionality in special education using a universal screening approach. The Journal of
Negro Education, 85(1), 59-71.
GLSEN/NCTE. (2011). Model district policy for transgender and gender nonconforming students. New York, NY: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educators
Network/National Center for Transgender Equality. Retrieved from
http://www.glsen.org/binary-data/GLSEN_ATTACHMENTS/file/000/001/1977-1.pdf
Gurian, M., & Stevens, K. (2004). With Boys and Girls in Mind. Closing Achievement Gaps, 62(3), 21-26.
Hehir, T., Schifter, L., Grindal, T., Ng, M., & Eidelman, H. (2014). Review of Special Education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: A Synthesis Report.
Retrieved from http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/hehir/2014-09synthesis.pdf
Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2002). Teacher sorting and the plight of urban schools: A descriptive analysis. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis,
24(1), 37-62.
Nasponline.org
https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr17/yr17rel17.asp
Pasachoff, Eloise. "Special Education, Poverty, and the Limits of Private Enforcement." Notre Dame Law Review 86.4 (2011): 1413-1493. Web.
Skiba, R. J., Horner, R. H., Chung, C., Rausch, M., May, S. L., & Tobin, T. (2011). Race is not neutral: A national investigation of African American and Latino
disproportionality in school discipline. School Psychology Review, 40(1), 85-107. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

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