The current study investigated the impact of implementing Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams) on the disproportionate referral and placement of minority students into special education. Data were collected on referral and placement patterns of minority students in 13 IC Teams schools and 9 comparison schools. Three accepted indices of disproportionality—including risk indexes, odds ratios, and composition indexes—were calculated and analyzed for the baseline and for 2 years of project implementation. After 2 years of implementation, there were significant decreases in the risk of minority students in IC Team project schools being referred to and placed in special education when compared to nonproject schools. Moreover, the odds of minority students' being referred and placed in special education decreased by almost half in IC Team schools. Similar decreases in IC Team schools were noted when analyzing the composition indexes. The current findings also highlight the influence that quality classroom instructional practices have on the referral and placement of minority students for special education services.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Artiles, A.J., & McClafferty, K. (1998). Learning to teach culturally diverse learners. Elementary School Journal, 98, 189—220.
2.
Artiles, A.J., & Trent, S.C. (1994). Overrepresentation of minority students in special education: A continuing debate. The Journal of Special Education , 27, 410—438.
3.
Artiles, A.J., Trent, S.C., Hoffman-Kipp, P., & Lopez Torres, L. (2000). From individual acquisitions to cultural—historical practices in multicultural teacher education . Remedial and Special Education, 21, 79—91.
4.
Chalfant, J.C., & Pysh, M.V. (1989). Teacher assistance teams: Five descriptive studies on 96 teams. Remedial and Special Education, 10(6), 49—58.
5.
Costas, L., Rosenfield, S., & Gravois, T.A. (2003, August). Impact of instructional consultation on teacher satisfaction and skill development. Poster session presented at the American Psychological Association Meeting, Toronto, Canada.
6.
Donovan, S., & Cross, C. (Eds.). (2002). Minority students in special and gifted education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
7.
Dunn, L. (1968). Special education for the mildly mentally retarded: Is much of it justifiable?Exceptional Children, 23, 5—21.
8.
Educational Trust. (n.d.). EdWatch Interactive . Retrieved August 1, 2005, from http://66.43.154.40:8001/projects/edtrust/index.html
9.
Fradd, S., & Hallman, C.L. (1983). Implications of psychological and educational research for assessment and instruction of culturally and linguistically different students. Learning Disability Quarterly, 6, 468— 478.
10.
Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., & Bahr, M.W. (1990). Mainstream assistance teams: A scientific basis for the art of consultation. Exceptional Children, 57, 128—137.
11.
Fudell, R. (1992). Level of implementation of teacher support teams and teachers' attitudes toward special needs students. Dissertation Abstracts International, 53(05), 1399A (University Microfilms No. AAC-9227463).
12.
Gottlieb, J., Alter, M., Gottleib, B., & Wishner, J. (1994). Special education in urban America: It's not justifiable for many. The Journal of Special Education, 27, 453—465.
13.
Gravois, T.A., Fudell, R., & Rosenfield, S. (1998). The instructional consultation team level of implementation scale—Revised. Unpublished manuscript, Temple University.
14.
Gravois, T.A., & Gickling, E. (2002). Best practices in curriculum based assessment . In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology (Vol. IV). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists .
15.
Gravois, T.A., Knotek, S., & Babinski, L. (2001). Educating practitioners as instructional consultants: Development and implementation of the IC team consortium. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 13, 113—132.
16.
Gravois, T.A., & Rosenfield, S.A. (2002). A multi-dimensional framework for evaluation of instructional consultation teams. Journal of AppliedSchool Psychology, 19, 5—29.
17.
Gravois, T.A., Rosenfield, S.A., & Gickling, E. (2002). Instructional consultation teams training manual . Unpublished manuscript.
18.
Harry, B., Klingner, J.K., Sturges, K.M., & Moore, R.F. (2002). Of rocks and soft places: Using qualitative methods to investigate disproportionality. In D. J. Losen & G. Orfield (Eds.), Racial inequity in special education (pp. 71—92). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
19.
Hartman, W.T., & Fay, T.A. (1996). Cost-e fectiveness of instructional support teams in Pennsylvania (Policy Paper no. 9). Palo Alto, CA: American Institutes for Research, Center for Special Education Finance.
20.
Hilliard, A.G., III. (1992). The pitfalls and promises of special education practice. Exceptional Children, 59, 168—172.
21.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, H.R. 5, 105 Cong., 1st Sess.
22.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, H.R. 1350, 108 Cong., 2nd Sess.
23.
Knotek, S., Rosenfield, S., Gravois, T.A., & Babinski, L. (2003). The process of fostering consultee development during instructional consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 14, 303—328.
24.
Kovaleski, J., Tucker, J., & Duffy, D. (1995). School reform through instructional support: The Pennsylvania Initiative (Part I). Communique, 23.
25.
Leone, P.E., & McLaughlin, M.J. (1995). Appropriate placement of students with emotional or behavioral disorders: Emerging policy options . In J. M. Kauffman & J. W. Lloyd (Eds.), Issues in educational placement: Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (pp. 335—359). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
26.
Levinsohn, M. (2000). Evaluating instructional consultation teams for student reading achievement and special education outcomes. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park.
27.
Losen, D.J., & Welner, K.G. (2001). Disabling discrimination in our public schools: Comprehensive legal challenges to inappropriate and inadequate special education services for minority children. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 36, 407—460.
28.
Maheady, L., Towne, R., Algozzine, B., Mercer, J., & Ysseldyke, J. (1983). Minority overrepresentation: A case for alternative practices prior to referral. Learning Disability Quarterly , 6, 449—456.
29.
Maryland State Department of Education. (2003 ). Maryland state improvement grant report (2001—2002) . Retrieved June 2004 from http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/earlyinterv/Special_Ed_Info
30.
Ott, C.A. (1993). Parent involvement with school-based problem-solving teams. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Indiana University .
31.
Patton, J.M. (1998). The disproportionate representation of African Americans in special education. The Journal of Special Education , 32, 25—32.
32.
Reschly, D.J. (1988). Minority MMR overrepresentation and special education reform. Exceptional Children, 54, 316—323.
33.
Reschly, D.J. (1997). Disproportionate minority representation in general and special education programs: Patterns, issues, and alternatives. Des Moines, IA: Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center .
34.
Rock, M.L., & Zigmond, N. (2001). Intervention assistance: Is it substance or symbolism?Preventing School Failure, 45(4), 153—161.
35.
Rosenfield, S. (1987). Instructional consultation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
36.
Rosenfield, S. (2002). Best practices in instructional consultation. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology (4th ed., pp. 609—623). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
37.
Rosenfield, S., & Gravois, T.A. (1996). Instructional consultation teams: Collaborating for change. New York: Guilford Press .
38.
Sabatino, D.A., Kelling, K., & Hayden, D.L. (1973). Special education and the culturally different child: Implications for assessment and intervention. Exceptional Children, 39, 563—567.
39.
Serna, L., Forness, S., & Nielsen, E. (1998). Intervention versus affirmation: Proposed solutions to the problem of disproportionate minority representation in special education . The Journal of Special Education, 32, 48—51.
40.
Smithson, M. (2003). Confidence intervals. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
41.
Trent, S.C., & Artiles, A.J. (1998). Multicultural teacher education in special and bilingual education. Remedial and Special Education, 19, 2—7.
42.
Vail, P., Gravois, T.A., & Rosenfield, S. (1998). Instructional consultation team facilitator training manual. Unpublished manuscript.
43.
Valles, E.C. (1998). The disproportionate representation of minority students in special education: Responding to the problem. The Journal of Special Education, 32, 52—54.
44.
Williams-Dixon, R. (1991). Disproportionate mental retardation placement of minority students. Reading Improvements, 28, 133—137.
