Children from diverse backgrounds are more likely to receive special education services for emotional or behavioral disorders. These data validate the research that advocates for practitioners to use evidence-based and culturally sustaining practices. This article discusses how strategically implemented, evidence-based, and culturally sustaining practices can assist in preventing inaccurate referrals for special education services.
BarrioB. L. (2020). Understanding culturally responsive practices in teacher preparation: An avenue to address disproportionality in special education. Teaching Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2020.1796956
2.
CartledgeG.KoureaL. (2008). Culturally responsive classrooms for culturally diverse students with and at risk for disabilities. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 351–371. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290807400305
3.
ChangD. (2020). What to do with Eurocentric curricula: An example from “Antigone in Ferguson.”Philosophical Inquiry in Education, 27(1), 62–67. https://doi.org/10.7202/1070278ar
4.
de BreyC.MusuL.McFarlandJ.Wilkinson-FlickerS.DilibertiM.ZhangA.BranstetterC.WangX. (2019). Status and trends in the education of racial and ethnic groups 2018 (NCES 2019-038). National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2019/2019038.pdf
ErevellesN. (2014). Crippin’ Jim Crow: Disability, dis-location, and the school-to-prison pipeline. In Ben-MosheL.ChapmanC.CareyA. C. (Eds.), Disability incarcerated: Imprisonment and disability in the United States and Canada (pp. 81–99). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137388476_5
7.
FreemanJ.YellM. L.ShrinerJ. G.KatsiyannisA. (2019). Federal policy on improving outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders: Past, present, and future. Behavioral Disorders, 44(2), 97–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742918814423
8.
GayG. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. Teachers College Press.
9.
GreenA. L.LewisT. J.OlsenA. A. (2020). General education teachers’ use of evidence-based practices: Examining the role of student race and risk status. Behavioral Disorders, 45(3), 183–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742919883570
10.
GreenA. L.StormontM. (2018). Creating culturally responsive and evidence-based lessons for diverse learners with disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 53(3), 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451217702114
11.
HalesD.EdmondsB. (2019). Intragenerational cultural evolution and ethnocentrism. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 63(5), 1283–1309. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002718780481
12.
HaydonT.ConroyM. A.ScottT. M.SindelarP. T.BarberB. R.OrlandoA.-M. (2010). A comparison of three types of opportunities to respond on student academic and social behaviors. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 18, 27–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426609333448
13.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 34 CFR 300.8(c)(4) (2004).
14.
JanssonF. (2013). Pitfalls in spatial modelling of ethnocentrism: A simulation analysis of the model of Hammond and Axelrod. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 16(3), 2. https://doi.org/10.18564/jasss.2163
15.
KoenenA. K.VervoortE.KelchtermansG.VerschuerenK.SpiltJ. L. (2019). Teachers’ daily negative emotions in interactions with individual students in special education. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 27(1), 37–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426617739579
16.
Ladson-BillingsG. (1992). Liberatory consequences of literacy: A case of culturally relevant instruction for African American students. The Journal of Negro Education, 61, 378–391.
17.
La SalleT. L.GeorgeH. P.McCoachD. B.PolkT.EvanovichL. L. (2018). An examination of school climate, victimization, and mental health problems among middle school students self-identifying with emotional and behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 43(3), 383–392. https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742918768045
18.
LeathS.MathewsC.HarrisonA.ChavousT. (2019). Racial identity, racial discrimination, and classroom engagement outcomes among Black girls and boys in predominantly Black and predominantly White school districts. American Educational Research Journal, 56(4), 1318–1352. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831218816955
19.
LewisT. J.WehbyJ. H.ScottT. M. (2019). The Peacock Hill working group “problems and promises” three decades later: Introduction to the creek bend consortium special issue. Behavioral Disorders, 44(2), 67–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742918821323
NelsonJ. R.BennerG. J.LaneK.SmithB. W. (2004). Academic achievement of K-12 students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Exceptional Children, 71(1), 59–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290407100104
22.
ProffittW. A. (2020). From “problems” to “vulnerable resources”: Reconceptualizing Black boys with and without disability labels in U.S. urban schools. Urban Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085920972164
23.
RajagopalK. (2011). Create success: Unlocking the potential of urban students. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
24.
SkibaR. J.AlbrechtS.LosenD. (2013). CCBD’s position summary on federal policy on disproportionality in special education. Behavioral Disorders, 38(2), 108–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/019874291303800202
25.
SkibaR. J.SimmonsA. B.RitterS.GibbA. C.RauschM. K.CuadradoJ.ChungC. G. (2008). Achieving equity in special education: History, status, and current challenges. Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290807400301
26.
SutherlandK. S.Lewis-PalmerT.StichterJ.MorganP. L. (2008). Examining the influence of teacher behavior and classroom context on the behavioral and academic outcomes for students with emotional or behavioral disorders. The Journal of Special Education, 41(4), 223–233. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466907310327