Interrogating the Special Education Identification Process for Black Indigenous Students of Color
The initial special education identification process (SPED IDP) determines which students have disabilities and corresponding rights to IDEA supports. However, the disproportionate identification of Black, Indigenous Students of Color (BISOC) as emotionally disturbed necessitates the problematizing of special education structures within the SPED IDP. This critical analysis of current norms of practice within SPED IDP structures discusses hidden ideologies of Whiteness, ableism, and racism. I apply DisCrit and Whiteness Studies frameworks to interrogate power within three SPED IDP structures (a) multidisciplinary team (MDT) decision-making, (b) social–emotional–behavioral (SEB) assessments and data collection, and (c) categorical identification of emotional disturbance (ED). I include critical reflection on my professional practice in elementary schools, consider my complicity as a member of MDTs, and offer critical questions for practitioners.
Abstract
Contributor Notes
Author Bio
Jeanne Connelly completed her doctoral program at Iowa State University in the spring of 2021. She spent over two decades in suburban and urban elementary schools as a special education teacher and leader working with students identified with emotional disturbance (ED). She is beginning her special education teacher educator career at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado. Her research is grounded in Disability Critical Race Theory, centering structures and practices related to the overrepresentation of Black Indigenous Students of Color in special education.
