Why are black males students being placed in special education at a higher rate than their peers?
Black students, particularly males, are more likely to be placed in special education than any other race in the American school system. They are at an extremely disadvantage than their peers because of racial discrimination in public schools. According to Ruby Gentry, a professor at Jackson State, "Possible causes of disproportionate special education representation are psychometric test bias, socio demographic factors, unequal opportunity in general education, teacher ethnicity,as the percentage of African American teachers increased, over representation of African American students in the emotionally disturbed category decreased," (page 6) In some ways, special education could be the new form of segregation. It does have the ability to isolate Black students from general education.
Several articles during my research state the rates are more alarming in southern states. "For example, Blacks comprise 40% of the special education population in Alabama, 39.4% in Georgia, 50% in Louisiana, 52.4% in Mississippi, 43% in South Carolina. And 45.2% in Maryland". (Augustus Corbett 2018). Black students are clearly being disproportionately placed in Special Education based on race. Some studies show teachers feel threatened because of their Black students' size and recommend them for special education on the grounds that they are “too big for their grade.” Despite this being an outrageous reason for sending a child to Special Education, it actually happens.
Dr. Umar Johnson, Doctor of Clinical Psychology and Certified School Psychologist who specializes in working with the parents of African-American children, is an advocate for getting Black students treated equally in the school system. Below is a video of Dr. Umar Johnson speaking on how the public school system is designed to control African American students through White privilege. He believes standardized testing is a current rendition of Jim Crow.
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