29 Diversity in Special Education

Students with disabilities, like all students, represent a wide range of cultural diversity across gender identities, ethnicity, race, nationality, religious affiliation, language, and family and community values. Rather than seeing our students with disabilities only through the lens of their disability category, educators must be, in the words of the Council for Exceptional Children (2023), “culturally responsive to all students, especially those students with disabilities whose culture may influence their educational decisions and outcomes.”

resources

Presented here is a small collection of resources to introduce important topics and issues in the field of special education related to supporting culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities.

Disproportionality

Disproportionality of Specific Racial and Ethnic Groups in Special Education – This chapter from the open-access eBook, The Roles and Responsibilities of the Special Educator (Lombardi, 2021), shares an overview of disproportionality, IDEA regulations and resources related to disproportionality, and other media to illustrate key issues of disproportional representation of students by race and ethnicity in special education.

Significant Disproportionality in Special Education: Current Trends and Actions for Impact – This 2020 research brief from the National Center for Learning Disabilities provides a synthesis of literature and research on disproportional representation of students in special education by disability identification, discipline practices, and educational placement.

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Culturally Responsive Teaching Overview – This webpage from the National Equity Project provides an overview of culturally responsive teaching and explains specific components and practices for educators.

Culturally Responsive Teaching – In this chapter from the open-access eBook, The Roles and Responsibilities of the Special Educator, Lombardi (2021) presents a more detailed look at culturally responsive teaching practices, related terms, and considerations.

Culturally Responsive (Sustaining) Practices – Developed by Gadd and Butler (2018) for the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition, this article shares a detailed annotated bibliography of resources for supporting diverse students with and at risk for disabilities. Full reference information is included so that readers can seek out original sources as available.