EMERGING ISSUE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

Emerging Issue in Special Education



Emerging Issue in Special Education

Introduction

Several issues are currently in the forefront of special education. First, some minority groups continue to be disproportionately represented among those in special education. As demographics in the United States become increasingly diverse, professionals continue to be challenged with identifying students who truly need special education services and supports. Second, the question of where to educate students with identified disabilities remains a central problem. Current practices range from educating students in separate settings to believing that every individual (Garcia and Ortiz, 2009), even those with the most severe disabilities, should participate in educational and living environments that are as close to normal as possible. This leads to a third issue: As more students with disabilities are included in general education classrooms, the role of the special education professional continues to change. Shifting responsibilities of special education professionals entail consultation, collaboration, and facilitation of student learning. Thus, the challenge of preparing all teachers to share knowledge, skills, and expertise is also critical in this entry's discussion of the present state and future developments in the field of special education.

Disproportionate Representation

A variety of factors contribute to the underachieve-ment of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. However, the continued low progress of CLD students in schools today is very pertinent to the special education field. Students who do not perform well academically end up being referred for special education services. Although prereferral interventions exist to ensure that students are not placed erroneously in special education, students from CLD backgrounds continue to be disproportionately represented in certain programs and disability categories (Garcia and Ortiz, 2009).

For example, African American males continue to be overrepresented in classes for students with emotional/behavioral disorders, whereas Latino students are overrepresented in programs serving students with learning disabilities. Moreover, African American, Latino, and Native American students are underrepre-sented in programs for the gifted and talented, whereas Asian American and European American students are overrepresented in these programs.

One reason for disproportionate representation that has been discussed in the literature includes the possibility that lower socioeconomic status contributes to disability. However, some scholars argue that the deficit perspective of some education professionals as they view students and families from CLD backgrounds leads to misidentification. Supporting this claim, existing research has pointed out the fact that CLD students are disproportionately represented in those categories that are socially constructed (e.g., behavior disorders, learning disabilities) or based on professional judgments as to what normalcy means. CLD students are not disproportionately represented in disability categories that entail biological traits or conditions (e.g., deafness, blindness) (Peterson & Hittie, 2003).

Other reasons for the disproportionate number of minority students in special education programs that have been espoused by educational researchers are existing cultural biases in the assessment process and the cultural mismatch between CLD students and their predominantly European American, middle-class educators.

Inclusion of Students witn Disabilities

Students with disabilities are increasingly being integrated in general education classrooms, where general educators are responsible for providing services to meet individual ...