Intersectionality and Disproportionality in Special Education

Intersectionality in Education

  • Definition: A framework to understand how power collides and intersects, acknowledging that individuals hold unique, overlapping experiences of privilege and discrimination.

  • Identity Dimensions: Intersects across race, ethnicity, gender identity, class, language, religion, ability, sexuality, mental health, age, education, and attractiveness.

Identity factors diagram and quote by Kimberlé Crenshaw

Key Disproportionality Statistics

  • Identification: Black, Native American, and Native Hawaiian students are 50%50\% more likely to be identified for special education, whereas Asian students are 50%50\% less likely.

  • Placement: Black students with disabilities are 67%67\% more likely to be placed in segregated settings.

  • Discipline: Black, Hispanic, and Native American students consistently receive harsher disciplinary actions in school settings.

Areas Impacted by Disproportionality

  • Overrepresentation & Underrepresentation: Overrepresentation involves disproportionately high placement (e.g., Black and Native American students), while underrepresentation involves disproportionately low placement (e.g., white and Asian students).

  • Core Domains of Disproportionality:

    • Identification: Screening and classification of students with disabilities (ages 3–21).

    • Placement: Assignment of students to specific educational settings (ages 6–21).

    • Disciplinary Removals: Incidence, duration, and type of disciplinary sanctions, including suspensions and expulsions (ages 3–21).

Three areas impacted by disproportionality: Identification, Placement, and Disciplinary Removals

  • Primary Issue: Disproportionate representation is harmful when students are wrongfully classified, segregated, stigmatized, or denied needed services because their disabilities are overlooked due to racial or ethnic bias.

The Special Education Paradox

  • Special Education as a Benefit: Grounded in civil rights law to guarantee equal access and afford legal protections to students with disabilities.

  • Special Education as Harm: Can function as an exclusionary system where marginalized students face inappropriate identification, placement in segregated settings, and poor educational outcomes.

  • Core Contradiction: The system simultaneously functions as a vital civil rights benefit and a source of harm.