Making Visible the Invisible: Multistudy Investigation of Disproportionate Special Education Identification of U.S. Asian American and Pacific Islander Students

Although disproportionality has been a focus of special education research for more than 50 years, relatively few researchers have addressed potential inequitable or inappropriate treatment of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students in the United States, particularly in quantitative rese...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inExceptional children Vol. 86; no. 4; pp. 449 - 467
Main Authors Sullivan, Amanda L., Kulkarni, Tara, Chhuon, Vichet
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.07.2020
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Asian American Students
Asian Americans
At Risk Students
Disability Identification
Disproportionate Representation
Ethnicity
Family Characteristics
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Individual Characteristics
Kindergarten
Pacific Americans
Pacific Islander people
Primary Education
Racial Bias
Racial Differences
Special Education
Students with Disabilities
Symptoms (Individual Disorders)
White Students
United States > US
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Summary:Although disproportionality has been a focus of special education research for more than 50 years, relatively few researchers have addressed potential inequitable or inappropriate treatment of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students in the United States, particularly in quantitative research. This multistudy investigation explored patterns and predictors of AAPI representation in special education using (a) data from states’ federal child count reports and (b) a subsample of 4,290 participants from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011). Descriptive analysis of states’ child count data indicated that, compared to White students, Asian and Pacific Islander students’ relative risk of identification differed for most disabilities, with Pacific Islanders generally demonstrating higher relative risk. Multivariate analysis of the ECLS-K:2011 subsample indicated that ethnic group differences in risk of special education identification were not robust to sociodemographic and performance controls. We discuss potential contributors to these patterns and implications for research.
ISSN:0014-4029
2163-5560
DOI:10.1177/0014402920905548