3. Special Education Overview Harvard Civil Rights Project reveals that black children are three times more likely than white children to be labeled mentally retarded (Cottle 15). Thomas B. Fordham Foundation shows that the whiter the school district and the whiter the school district and the whiter the teaching staff, the higher the percentage of black kids ( and to a lesser degree Hispanics) shuffled into special education (Cottle 15). Reason, failure to grasp cultural differences is the key disparity (Cottle 15). SLD (Specific Learning Disability) category accounts for almost half of special education referrals (Cottle 15).
4. Special Education Disproportion of minority student in some programs (Gallagher 525). Expanding definition of what legally qualifies as disabled (Gallagher 525). Perverse incentives for schools to categorize students as disabled (Gallagher 526). Children classified as learning disabled, state and federal funds come rolling in (Gallagher 528).
