Goddard, Lauren R.
Abstract:
Students who live in poverty are more likely than their affluent peers to haveacademic and behavioral deficits. These deficits often lead to a referral and disabilityclassification for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA). Disproportionate representation of minority students is regulated by IDEA tohelp protect these students from discriminatory practices; however, no reporting practicesor regulations exist to extend the same protections to students from disadvantagedenvironments. This quantitative correlational study was conducted to determine if asignificant relationship exists between poverty and special education identification, aswell as between poverty and the level of placement in special education. This study alsofocused specifically on the high-incidence categories of emotional disturbance, otherhealth impairment, and specific learning disability. This study was conducted in DistrictB a suburban public-school district located a few miles south of Kansas City, Missouri.Archival student-level data was used from the 685 students who were identified forspecial education services, with 428 being classified as having free and reduced lunchprice status. The findings of this study indicated poverty might increase the likelihood ofa student being identified for special education services. The results further suggest arelationship may exist between poverty and the level of placement in special educationwhen assessing the overall special education population and subgroups of other healthimpairment and specific learning disability. Although not mandated by IDEA, the resultsof this study suggest a need for district leaders to consider their population of specialeducation students in comparison to their free and reduced lunch population and to takeappropriate action.