Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Steggert_AFTERTHEINKDRIES.pdf (1.26 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

After the Ink Dries: IDEA and Minority Disproportionality in Special Education

Steggert, Stacey L
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0031-2146
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1495878664021948

Abstract Details

2017, Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, College of Education and Human Services.
Minority students have historically been disproportionately identified as requiring special education services. This disproportionality is interpreted as symptomatic of biased referral procedures and as evidence of inequity in public education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) addressed this issue for the first time in 1997, and formally defined consequences for school districts that demonstrate evidence of minority disproportionality as a result of inappropriate special education referrals. The purpose of this study was to determine if rates of minority disproportionality in special education have changed since the IDEA regulations regarding disproportionality were operationalized in 2006, and whether the method of calculating the disproportionality index impacted a district's rating. Data from 608 school districts in the state of Ohio were examined using a paired samples t test and latent growth modeling in Hierarchical Linear Modeling. Significant differences were found between districts' mean disproportionality indices, depending on the method of calculation. Where significant change over time was found in the latent growth models, the rate of change was either a nearly imperceptible decrease or an increase in disproportionality indices. The findings suggest that the requirements in IDEA and associated policies have not had the intended effects. There is a need to examine the ways in which conditions and policies external to schools impact disproportionality in special education, as well as an opportunity to develop an equitable and sound method of measuring disproportionality.
Anne Galletta, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Adam Voight, Ph.D. (Other)
Amanda Yurick, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
James Moore, Ed.D. (Committee Member)
Daniel Jaffe, J.D. (Committee Member)
176 p.
Education Policy; Special Education
special education; disproportionality; IDEA; queer pedagogy; feminist; HLM; hierarchical linear modeling; risk ratio

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Steggert, S. L. (2017). After the Ink Dries: IDEA and Minority Disproportionality in Special Education [Doctoral dissertation, Cleveland State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1495878664021948

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Steggert, Stacey. After the Ink Dries: IDEA and Minority Disproportionality in Special Education. 2017. Cleveland State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1495878664021948.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Steggert, Stacey. "After the Ink Dries: IDEA and Minority Disproportionality in Special Education." Doctoral dissertation, Cleveland State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=csu1495878664021948

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

csu1495878664021948
368
© 2017, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Cleveland State University and OhioLINK.