Diversity in Special Education

Cone, J. (2013, November). Diversity in Special Education. Retrieved from youtbube.com

Julie Cone provides an important history of disability services in the United States before discussing pitfalls with disproportionality. Her timeline begins just before 1966 when parents began to push for legislation that would grant rights for people with disabilities. In 1966 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was revised to include grant programs that would initiate and expand education services for students with disabilities. This eventually transitioned to the Education of Handicapped Students Act. Neither program contained specific mandates, and unfortunately some funding was not being utilized effectively. In 1972, congress launched an investigation finding millions of people with special needs not receiving equitable services, in and outside of education. This lead to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act mandating that no program receiving federal funding could discriminate against persons with disabilities. IDEA was then created improving state and local education accountability. Cone points out that while we have come such a long way for children with disabilities, we are not addressing what she calls, the growing cultural gap that is holding back minorities, and using special education programs to do so. Cone goes on to discuss the causes and implications of over representation and provides some interesting suggestions for schools, beginning with openly discussing racial disparities and creating a plan to tackle the issues. She then goes on to more specific recommendations such as trainings, ongoing professional developments, and RTI (response to intervention).