One in Four Black Students With Disabilities Suspended Out-of-School

Students with disabilities are suspended about twice as often as their peers, a new analysis from the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at the University of California, Los Angeles, has found.

Analyzing data that districts submitted to the federal Education Department's office of civil rights, researchers found that the rate of suspension for students with disabilities was about one in 13, compared with 7 percent for students without disabilities.

Most alarming, they said, was that one in four black students with disabilities was suspended at least once during the 2009-10 school year. That figure is 16 percentage points higher than for white students with disabilities. (Nearly one in six African-American students without disabilities was suspended from school during the 2009-10 academic year.)

Some of these students may have an explicit need for help with their behavior outlined in their education plans, which should warrant counseling or appropriate therapy, noted Daniel J. Losen, the director of the Civil Rights Project's Center for Civil Rights Remedies.

"This number suggests there's something very, very amiss," he said.

Read more of Nirvi Shah's On Special Education article HERE.

New Center Will Aim to Develop More Effective Special Educators

How can special education teachers be more effective? The federal Education Department is funding a new center to find out.

The department's office of special education said Thursday it will spend up to $5 million on the creation of the Center to Support the Development of Effective Educators to Serve Students with Disabilities.

The new center—applications are due Sep. 4—will provide technical assistance to state education departments that are reviewing and reforming certification and licensing standards for teacher preparation programs. It will be expected to work with school districts and colleges and universities.

The standards the groups collaborate on will have to be proven effective through research and help teachers work effectively in inclusive settings.

Notable, the announcement said, is that about 95 percent of the nearly 6 million students with disabilities in public schools spent part or all of the day in general education classrooms.

"As students with disabilities spend an increasing amount of time in general education classrooms, all teachers and leaders must have the knowledge and skills necessary to address their diverse needs," the application request says.

In an interesting contrast to this call for more investment and thought to be put into preparing teachers who work with students with disabilities, last week, U.S. House subcommittee spent a bit of time talking about allowing teachers who are still working on their certification to be considered "highly qualified" under the federal No Child Left Behind law. This is allowed now, but this provision expires soon. Its possible extension has been a source of angst in the special education community. Earlier in July, the House appropriations subcommittee approved extending the provision.

Read more of Nirvi Shah's On Special Education article HERE.