Alicia Dubon

Austin Carter

May 7, 2018

Writing 39C

The Under and Over Representation of Students of Color with Learning Disabilities

The United States’ History of Oppression

It is no question that students of color continue to be discriminated and overlooked in the

education system despite various laws and policies that have been passed to prevent this.

According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’s data, students of color

are three times as likely to be suspended or disciplined than white students. Although the rates of

suspension and discipline are declining anually, there is still an obvious gap between white

students and students

Figure 1: Out-of-school suspension rates in California from 2013
to 2015, by ethnicity.
of color,

especially

African

American

students, as

shown in

Figures 1 and 2

(Loveless).

Harshly

disciplining,

suspending, and expelling students of color in rates far higher than white students has
consequences beyond short-term. Because of these punishments, students of color are not only

being held back from advancing academically in school, but there are also being impacted in

conditons and factors outside of their school life such as “hunger, poverty, post-traumatic stress

disorder, exhaustion, and more” (Aparicio). All these factors negatively affect students of color

with disabilities because racial prejudice results in there being either a misidentification with a

learning disability or no identification when one is present.

Figure 2: Overall suspension rates in California from 2013 to 2015 by ethnicity.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

In the United States, up to 10% of the population is identified as having a learning

disability, which may seem like a small number. Learning disabilities include but are not limited

to the following disabilities: ADHD, dyslexia, non-verbal learning disabilities, and language

processing disorders. The Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA) was passed in
1975 with the intention of providing a free education for students with disabilities and providing

parents with the opportunity to speak up for their children. Although the IDEA intends to provide

support for parents of color that have children with learning disabilities, these parents still do not

have the proper information and resources needed, which becomes a challenge when they

attempt to stand up for their children and their educational rights. In 2016, additional regulations

to this act were added, which included data on rates of identification over racial and ethnic

groups. Essentially, if there is a large gap, the state is required to examine the local policies in an

attempt to solve the disproportionality. Of these 10%, there is a discrepancy among different

sources regarding how many of these students are white and how many are students of color––

some claim students of color are being over identified while others claim they are not being

identified enough. With that being said, what is being called into question is how many of the

students of color actually have learning disabilities and what are the effects of the students being

wrongly diagnosed or not diagnosed at all. Because the discrepancy with these numbers exists, it

is appropriate to question if student experience varies by race and class. It is no secret that the

United States has a history of creating limitations in the advancements that students of color can

make in their education. Even though the well-known court case Brown v. Board of Education in

1954 slowly opened many doors for African American and other students of color , these

students still find themselves facing discrimination in school, making it seem as if only white

students are benefitting off the results of this case. Overall, students of color are and always have

been easy targets to racist educators and find themselves suffering in the hands of indifferent

educators. As a result, students of color are either identified with a learning disability they do not

have or are not identified with one they might have.

 Students of Color Are Not Having Their Learning Disabilities Identified

A reason students of color with learning disabilities would be under represented or under-

identified could be attributed to the fact that African American and Latinx students with special

needs are more likely to attend high-poverty schools that lack the proper and necessary resources

for students with disabilities. Considering many students attending high-poverty schools are

already finding it difficult to perform well due to lack of resources, their cultutral backgrounds,

or environmental factors, it becomes clear that their learning disabilities are affecting them even

more when they are not being identified. Because of the said scarcity, students of color struggle

throughout their years in school without ever being helped with their learning difficulties,

resulting in their graduation rates being

Figure 3: Hispanic students and their liklihood to
be identified as having a learning disability. significantly lower than white

students with identified learning

disabilities. Another issue with this

under-representation is that the

students of color have fewer

opportunities for success and are

limited to their level of potential

since their unidentified disability is

a prominent setback in their

learning. The American education

system obviously functions to help

and benefit white, middle class

students succeed and further their

education, which already makes it difficult for all students of color – not just the students of

color with learning disabilities – to be able to excel in school.

Students that go into school not knowing English are placed in English-learning classes

and programs; with that being said, the learning difficulties the students are having in class could

easily be mistaken as a sort of translation confusion. The students are given more help with the

language instead of help with their undiagnosed learning disability (Morgan 3). This is a

situation in which we will see white, affluent students having higher rates of learning disabilities.

Considering their first language was English, their troubles in the classroom are perceived as

developmental delays or disabilities, and therefore they receive the proper special education with

their learning disabilities.

The blame does not lie solely on educators – Latinx students are also underrepresented

because of cultural differences and preferences. Some Latinx families may choose to rely on the

support of their extended family and can therefore hesitate to have their children properly

evaluated and treated for any learning disabilities they could potentially have.

To further elaborate, white students could be over-represented as having a learning

disability because of the (or lack of) knowledge, resources, and opportunities provided to parents

of children with learning disabilities. White parents have more knowledge about acts and policies

regarding their children than parents of color are; in addition, white parents have a louder and

more present voice in politics and policy and can easily advocate for their children. These

resources and services are expensive and difficult to obtain, so it is no surprise that the white,

affluent families can obtain them easily. When parents of color attempt to speak up for their

children or question certain policies and regulations, however, they are often seen as aggressive

and ignorant, reulting in them being ignored at meetings with their school districts (Felton). Just
 as language barriers in English language learners of color result in underrepresentation of

learning disabilities, it is also a factor in students of color being over-identified as having a

learning disability.

African American Students Are Being Over-Identified With Learning Disabilities

For most African American students, the issue does not lie in the language barrier.

Instead, the issue, as Dorota Celinska discusses, is that many African American students differ

from white students in that they are taught to not

Figure 4: African American students and their
liklihood to be identified as having a disability. have a set goal in their educational future,

which educators interpret as a disability rather

than a persoanal preference (31). Essentially,

black students are being taught at a young age

that they can not succeed or set high goals as

white students can. With African American

students being over-identified with a learning

disability, there exists a setback in their future

and limitations to what they can achieve. By

being placed in learning programs that cater to

those that struggle in understanding general

education as easily as other students, these

students of color often do not graduate high

school or do not choose to pursue a degree by

furthering their education. As shown through

both figures 3 and 4, black students have a higher chance of being identified as having a learning

disability than Latinx students.

Students of Color Are Over-Identified As Having Learning Disabilities

Additionally, there are multiple reasons why students of color could be over-identified as

having a learning disability.

Figure 5: Chart demonstrating students’ identification
One of the reason lies within with learning disabilities varying by race.

the never-ending problem of

racism and prejudice. When

students of color act differently

in any way such as not

knowing much of American

culture or traditions or acting

out in class, their actions are

quickly considered

“problematic and atypical” and

attributed to their race and therefore racist educators find it easiest to diagnose them with a

learning disability.

Latinx Students Are Being Over-Identified With Learning Disabilites

In Figure 3, we see that Latinx students are twice as likely to be classified with language

impairment. As mentioned earlier, this can easily be attributed to the fact that many Latinx

students are English-language-learners. Instead of attempting to teach the students and guide

them through their struggles in learning English, some educators would rather put these students

in special education. By placing them in special education, incompetent or racist educators do

not have to cope with the inconvenience they might have with being a source of extra guidance

for the students struggling with the English language. If the students learn English with proper

guidance and attention, most of them would not have the need to be in special education,

considering 62% of English-language learners graduate high school (Mitchell).

Ultimately, students of color are still facing discrimination and unfair representation in

the education system. This can mean both identifying a student with a learning disability they do

not have or not identifying them with the learning disability they do have. Many educators find it

easier to refer a student to special education when the students shows signs to be even remotely

difficult to deal with – this would include a students that talks back, is not comfortable with the

English language, or even just a student that is not white. Latinx students are continuously being

affected by these unfair identifications in different ways. Most Latinx students are English-

language learners, so educators that do not want to be of extra help to them send the students to

special education without there being a learning disability present. Based on Jacqueline Rabe

Thomas’s collection of narratives from English-language learners, most, if not all, students who

did not learn English as their first language were able to propser in the language because of

teacher guidance. Similarly, when a Latinx student is struggling in the classroom because of

learning disability, educators misinterpret this struggle as a struggle with the language rather than

their actual capacities. African American students also suffer when it comes to not being

identified with a learning disability – students of color usually come from high poverty

backgrounds, resulting in them not receiving the proper resources to cater to students with

disabilities’ needs. Students of color also are over-identified with learning disabilities because of

not knowing about or not beloning to white American culture. Although white students with

learning disabilities might fnd it easier to receive the proper resources, tools, and guidance to aid
them in their learning, all students with learning disabilities could benefit from policies and

actions that aim to make the learning experience as pleasant and comfortable as possible.
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