Also take a look at this one I left off- we will discuss disproportionality issues at some point- I am friends with Paul Morgan whose research shows that African-Americans are underrepresented in special education once you take into account
risk factors, but as a raw number, they are overrepresented (depending on the disability area). Likewise, as an overall number, there are many more students who could be identified and need services, and so we have long held there is under identification across
the board. Depending on how you interpret it- one can go a lot of different ways….in part- it depends on whether or not you see special education as a force for good…or is bad and should be dismantled.
He has been one that has pushed back on dismantling and defunding special education in the past.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/opinion/is-special-education-racist.html
Here is his blog on psychology today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/children-who-struggle
I like Gwen C’s piece also, she diverges from Morgan, but does so also in a principled and evidence-based way that we aren’t seeing right now.
Hill Walker has said special education is on life support. At some point in your preparation, we will talk about whether these positions can be reconciled, and if so, how?
MDB