Disproportionality in special education, as reported in the article written by

Marks, Lemley, and Wood (2010), provided a thorough explanation on the reasons
such inequality continue to exist in our school systems. What I have concluded
from reading the article is that issues of disproportionality and over-representation
are perceived from the data collected from states in the country, where disability
categories, placement, and race contribute to such inequality. The authors in this
article felt that the problem rise from how disability is constructed as an individual
impairment as oppose to societal (Marks, Lemley, and Wood, 2010). However I
cannot help asking myself, how can it be inequitable if I regard the individual
impairment of each student in my efforts to make the student successful
academically. On the other side of the argument, I always felt that all students
(whether special education or not) are different; and I always believe that it is their
strengths that needs to be tapped into to overcome or cope with their weaknesses
or disability.
I have heard of much criticisms with the special education process
(identification and referrals) from both parents and educators. My school district
conducted a survey with parents and one of the issues that were brought up was
the lack of urgency with the special education referral process. Upon discussion
with the other special education teachers in my school, and the school
diagnostician, we found that there are parents who thinks that when their child does
not do well in the general education classroom, special education environment is
the solution. The parents and also some educators also has the misconception that
if the student is academically and cognitively low, they would automatically qualify
for special education. My school is pro-inclusion and we have always placed
students who are newly identified in special education with inclusion services. Of
course there are exceptions, where we also have a class for non-verbal students. I
believe that lots of times, the general education teachers do not have enough
resources to handle 20 over students who are unique in their own ways. Special
education services are only provided at the most 2 hours a day in their classroom.
The question I ask myself is would it benefit the students (both general and special
education) to have two teachers in a classroom, and solve the issue of inequality
and eliminate a self contained classroom for special education students? I believe
that there is a need to maintain some self contained classroom and the primary
reason is for the safety of the student, such as positive behavior support classroom.
Race place a part in the problem of disproportionality, according to the
article. My school is on a military post and many of the students are of diverse
racial backgrounds. With many mixed marriages and international cultures in the
society now, I also wonder if we can continue to measure inequality in special
education with race distribution. Personally, my kids are half Asian and half
Caucasian. I have a daughter in special education because of her autism, and
another daughter in the gifted and talented program. I know my family is a small
part of the sample, but I do wonder if my data would make a difference.

Reference
Mark, S. U., Lemley, C. K., Wood, G. K. (2010) The persistent issue of
disproportionality in special education and why it hasnt gone away. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu/courses/1/USW1.H8.201450/db/_35061293_1/embedded/
Disproportionality%20in%20Special
%20Education_ppj_vol_02_no_01_marks_lemley_wood.pdf