Educational inequalitiesin school for people with disabilities final

 Malcolm X once said, "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." (Bailey) A good educational experience gives people the absolute freedom to think, learn, grow, and travel the world. Therefore, knowledge is the most powerful weapon because it gives individuals the tools to understand the world, solve problems, empower themselves, overcome challenges, and experience personal growth. Everyone deserves a good, equal education to be a strong, successful, productive individual in society. Individuals with disabilities must be educated and exposed to an equal educational experience as their fellow students. Every child deserves to learn. Unfortunately, this is not the reality of our education system; students with disabilities do not have the same opportunities in schools as others. 

When babies come into the world, they need to be taught everything by their parents, such as how to play, which is the primary way that infants learn how to move, communicate, socialize, and understand their surroundings. (Gavin, 2022) These are called socializing agents, which every person needs throughout their life. This is especially true for students with disabilities who learn in many different ways. The education system is the leading institution that allows people access to all other socializing agents. Education enables people to develop their voices, and it is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world. Your voice is a valuable tool you have to listen to and see each other's perspective. 

Education gives people the absolute freedom to reason and communicate with the outside world. Unfortunately, only 65 percent of disabled people graduate from high school compared to 86 percent of their counterparts. (United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region, n.d.). Based on my research, individuals with disabilities have the right to equal education according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). (2024, American University)

Furthermore, this act mandates equal rights and essential support to students with disabilities in the US public school system. Every year, this legislation ensures that an equal education is provided to millions of students who otherwise may not receive it. Under IDEA, a child may become eligible for special education services when they are diagnosed with one of many covered disabilities, including autism, deaf-blindness, emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, orthopedic impairment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, or traumatic brain injury. 

Another issue that leads to educational inequity is disproportionality, which is the disproportionate overrepresentation or underrepresentation of a racial or ethnic group compared with its percentage in the population. Based on my research, students with disabilities are underrepresented in the classroom and are not performing well in school because they are not getting the resources and accommodations they require. Race affects many factors that have led to inequality in the education system, such as educational achievement, educational attainment, cultural values, social status, and sexism. For example, students of color identified for special education programs often get placed in separate classrooms or receive more discipline than their classmates, as reported by The Century Foundation (TCF) (“Disproportionality in Special Education | School of Education | American University,” 2024a). (WHAT IS YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE?) Disproportionate representation in special education is a problem that impacts both students and teachers. Many students with disabilities are placed in special education classes because they are disabled, but they are intelligent and they are capable. Additionally, a disproportionate number of minority students and non-native English language learners get placed in special education services programs, often in restrictive classroom settings, according to Understood.org (“Disproportionality in Special Education | School of Education | American University,” 2024a).

Children living in poverty have a higher chance of being identified with learning disabilities than students living in households with much higher incomes, according to NCES. The report cites data linking insurance as a possible cause of the disproportionality. From 2011 to 2013, children in households with public insurance received ADHD diagnoses at higher rates than children with private insurance, 11.7% versus 8.6%, respectively. (“Disproportionality in Special Education | School of Education | American University,” 2024a). C. Wright Mills developed the principle of "sociological imagination," which states that to explain any single problem in society, people must look at the problem from all aspects. This is why when sociologists want to study educational inequalities, they have to analyze these problems through the effects of race on the lack of funding, social status, educational achievement, educational attainment, class mobility, and ascription. All of these factors help sociologists explain and understand why there are many differences between the educational opportunities and the limited access to the resources that students in poor high schools and colleges have. I agree with Jonathan Cool's argument that "schools stack the deck against poor children (Kozol, 1956, p. 6)"; however, money is not the only reason for the lack of school funding and educational inequality in many public schools.

Another reason for educational inequality is the concept of tracking. "Tracking" is a term in the academic language that determines where students will be placed during their secondary school years (Burris, 2008, p 45). Tracking begins in some schools, as early as kindergarten, with IQ tests and early achievement tests designed to measure so-called "ability" to determine track placement in the elementary years, thus setting in place an educational trajectory that sets a limit on people with disabilities, which in turn creates more of a stigma.

Administrators and good teachers can address disproportionality in special education by helping prepare teachers with the skills and resources they require to identify students needing special services. The US education system has lost 17 percent of its special education teacher workforce over the last decade, as reported by PBS. Still, even as more special education teachers quit their jobs, the population of students with disabilities ages 6 to 21 stayed about the same—declining about 1 percent. Improving the retention rates of special education teachers delivers direct benefits to school systems and students. Principals, superintendents, and other school administrators can implement strategies to prepare teachers, such as training educators and improving resource availability.

The process for identifying children for special education programs includes an assessment. For example, a school can complete a functional behavior assessment (FBA) of students removed from their classes for more than 10 days due to problematic behaviors based on IDEA stipulations. However, because of these assessments being based on behavior rather than academic and social intelligence, they do not show the whole picture of a student's abilities in the class. If properly trained, educators who witness students struggling academically and socially can intervene as soon as they recognize the signs.

Instead of just screening students who are struggling in school, school administrators could expand observations to all students to help address the needs of every student. Additionally, decisions on whether or not students may benefit from a special education program could include assessments of various factors, including test scores, subjective observations, and classroom performance.

 This is very important to me because I recently started working at the Safeena Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization to help people with disabilities. We help students with disabilities get resources and support services like self-direction and community services accommodations in schools so they can perform well. My physical disability gives me a unique sense of empathy for those who are disabled, as well as any individual seeking to discover the power of their voice. I strive to help each of my clients use their voices as a tool to enable them to communicate their messages and experiences so that they can make people aware of their problems. People must never be afraid to stand up for their beliefs and ensure their powerful voices are heard. It is your most valuable resource because no one can take it away. As a social worker, I encourage my clients to utilize their voices by helping them use their passions to create different outlets that help them become comfortable sharing their unique experiences with others. One of the students I work with failed a test because he didn't receive any accommodations outside of our sessions. He knows the material, but because he could not receive the help he needed outside of his sessions, he struggled when it came to taking this test. This is why we are doing our best to make sure everyone gets help.

I decided to write this paper on education for many reasons. First, I took a social problems class in university and wrote a fifteen-page research paper on educational inequalities in the United States that helped me realize how much disparity there is between students who are disabled vs people who are not. This research paper opened my eyes and opened the door to a passion of mine: Fighting for equality for anyone who is disabled. There are no easy solutions. People must study it from many different perspectives to understand the whole picture better.

Kozol, J. (1991). Chapter 4. Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools (pp. 35-150). New York: Crown Pub.

Gavin, M. L. (Ed.). (2022, May). Learning, play, and your newborn (for parents) | Nemours KidsHealth. KidsHealth. https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/learnnewborn.html

Bailey, M. (n.d.). “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who

prepare for it today.” - Malcolm X. Legacy Newsletter | Edition 10, May 2023, The University of York. https://features.york.ac.uk/education-is-the-passport-to-the-future-for-tomorrow-belongs-to-those-who-prepare-for-it-today-malcolm-x/index.html

Disproportionality in special education | School of Education | American University. (2024, June 20). School of Education Online. https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/disproportionality-special-education/

United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo region. (n.d.). https://changethestory.org/day-15-education-inequality/#:~:text=Nationally%2C%20only%2065%20percent%20of,with%20disabilities%20graduate%20from%20college

Disproportionality in special education | School of Education | American University. (2024a, June 20). School of Education Online. https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/disprop

ortionality-special-education/