Research indicates that minority males, especially Black males, are often overrepresented in special education programs. While the reasons for overrepresentation vary from school to school and from district to district, the literature reveals that many special education referrals for minority males are generated as a result of non-academic issues.
The purpose of this study was to determine if gender and racial bias influence teachers’ decisions when referring students, specifically Black males, for special education services and attempted to answer two questions: Are teachers biased in making referrals to special education services based upon student race and/or gender? and Are teachers biased in making referrals to special education services, specifically for Black males? An ANOVA procedure was used to analyze the relationship between teachers’ ratings of how likely they were to refer a student for special education services and how certain they were of their ratings of a student’s need for referral. While the study produced some interesting patterns, no definitive conclusions could be drawn from the study due to a limited sample size. Additional research is needed to either support or refute the hypotheses that teacher bias does influence one’s decision to refer a student to special education services.