A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform
Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, Maryland. (2008).

“Among all of the policy areas affecting vulnerable children and families, juvenile justice has probably suffered the most glaring gaps between best practice and common practice, between what we know and what we most often do.  Perhaps because it serves an unpopular and powerless segment of our society —behaviorally troubled, primarily poor, mostly minority teenagers — juvenile justice policy has been too long shaped by misinformation, hyperbole, and political prejudices.” After reviewing issues and data, this paper includes recommendations on: (a) implementing developmentally appropriate polices and interventions; (b) reducing reliance on secure confinement; (c) increasing reliance on effective community-based services; (d) ensuring safe, healthy, and constructive conditions of confinement; (e) strengthening and empowering families to help youth succeed; (f) keeping youth out of the system; and (g). reducing racial disparities.
Full text -- Essay and Data Brief: 
http://www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/Publications.aspx?pubguid=
%7b8E672045-4819-4067-B7D1-5C6C47A25604%7d

Addressing Disproportionate Representation of Minority Students in Special Education Placement by Refining the Referral Process
In Motion Magazine. (2003).  NPC Productions, San Diego, California.
F. Cohahan, K. Burggraf, V. E. Nelson, A. Bailey, & M. Ford.

Journal of the Center for Families, Children, and the Courts. (2001).
Judicial Council’s Administrative Office of the Courts, State of California.
J. A. Cox & J. Bell.

“Although juvenile crime is decreasing significantly, the number of juveniles in confinement is growing at an alarming rate. This phenomenal increase in youth incarceration is resulting in overcrowded conditions that stretch  the capacity of most facilities to the breaking point, endangering staff and youth alike. . . . In California, the Board of Corrections Executive Steering Committee recently recommended that more than 1,200 additional beds be constructed for the detention of young people.  If past practice is prologue, young people of color will fill most of those new beds.  Juvenile justice professionals, now more than ever, must decide whether to continue to incarcerate young people of color in numbers that cannot be justified by crime statistics alone or to address the problem. This article discusses the reasons for disproportionate confinement of young people of color and the positive steps taken by some jurisdictions.”
Full text – Scroll down:
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/cfcc/resources/publications/journal/vol3.htm

Addressing the Disproportionate Representation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students in Special Education Through Culturally Responsive Educational Systems

The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Distributed by the Civil Rights Project, University of California, Los Angeles

Creating Opportunities to Learn:  A Forum for Addressing Disproportionality

These pages display the PowerPoints of the keynote presentations given at NCRESSt’s First National Forum in February 2006.
PowerPoints:  http://www.nccrest.org/events/events_2006/disproportionality.html
Also see materials from the 2007 Forum:
http://www.nccrest.org/events/events_2007/forum07.html


Data Analysis Workbook:  Racial and Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education
Metropolitan Center for Urban Education, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University.  (2006). 
E. Fergus & R. Abram.

“The purpose of this manual is to provide disrtrict/school personnel an overview of how to analyze special education and general education enrollment data in order to identify rates of disproportionality in special education classification and placement.  The manual is divided into three levels: (a) general; (b) by race/ethnicity; and (c) by disability type, placement, and race/gender/ethnicity.  Each level outlines the core questions that should be answered by the data, as well as the different layers of interpretation that could be deduced from the data charts.”
Full text -- Click on The Data Analysis Workbook at the right:
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/resources/pdfpublications.html


Deconstructing the School to Prison Pipeline

New Directions for Youth Development, No. 99




This report calls “the School-to-Prison Pipeline one of the most urgent challenges of education today.”  First, it covers data on suspensions, expulsions, and their results for children; discrepancies and underfunding in the education system; the consequences of grade retention.  Then it focuses on the Legal Defense and Education Fund’s initiatives with advocacy groups in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New York City.  The web page includes several related documents.
Full text – Scroll down to Publications (also see related information):
http://www.naacpldf.org/issues.aspx?issue=3



The Building the Legacy training curriculum is a produced at the request of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education.  Materials for this module include a PowerPoint presentation for use in training, detailed background text and explanation for trainers, handouts for participants, and supplemental resources for trainers.
Disproportionality module:
http://www.nichcy.org/Laws/IDEA/Pages/BuildingTheLegacy.aspx#disp
Also see the module on Early Intervening Services and Response to Intervention:
http://www.nichcy.org/Laws/IDEA/Pages/BuildingTheLegacy.aspx#eis
To view all modules:
http://www.nichcy.org/Laws/IDEA/Pages/BuildingTheLegacy.aspx



Disproportionality Workgroup: Overview and Activities
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

The purpose of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s Disproportionality Workgroup “is to address statewide concerns regarding the disproportionate numbers of students of color who may be inappropriately referred to and placed in special education and to increase state, regional, and local capacity to address issues of disproportionality.  Major goals are to (a) improve the quality of education statewide for all students, including students with disabilities, students of color, and students living in poverty; (b) increase internal capacity to address statewide concerns relative to the disproportionate number of students of color referred and placed in special education; and (c) address disproportionality as an educational issue, not just as a special education issue. . .  Ongoing activities include a disproportionality monitoring system; development of technical assistance resources; training on disproportionality data analysis; and review and analysis of State and district policies and practices.”  Various resources are shown at the website.
Disproportionality Workgroup -- Overview, activities, and resources:   http://dpi.state.wi.us/sped/spp-disp.html


Disproportionate Representation: Multiple Articles
Special EDge (2006).  California Department of Education.

This edition of California’s periodical provides a sequence of articles on such topics as assessment, disproportionalities in school discipline, disproportionality at the preschool level, innovative programs, and others.
Full Text -- Entire Topical Issue:
http://www.calstat.org/textAlt/SpEDge_eng/fall06edge.html


Equity in Education:   Addressing Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education -- Technical Assistance Manual for Identifying Root Causes
Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality,
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development,
New York University. (2009).  

“This manual is intended to provide school districts with detailed data-driven processes for identifying the root causes of disproportionality in their districts and ensure equitable outcomes.  This manual is the culmination of over 1,000 hours of training with over 900 practitioners throughout New York State from 2004 to 2008. A major premise of the modules involves understanding disproportionality as an outcome of policies, practices, and beliefs.  At the end of this data-driven process, school districts will be able to identify policies, practices, and beliefs implicated in their disproportionality patterns and, more importantly, develop systemwide buy-in and perspective of this equity issue.”
Full text -- Click on the title (the CLICK HERE may not work but the title will):
http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/programs/TACD/publications.html


Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U.S. Department of Education.
Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education. (2007).

“This guidance directly addresses three sets of issues: (a) how educational institutions and other recipients will collect and maintain racial and ethnic data from students and staff; (b) how educational institutions and other recipients will aggregate racial and ethnic data when reporting those data to the Department; and (c) how data on multiple races will be reported and aggregated under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.  In addition, this final guidance provides information regarding the implementation schedule for these changes.”
Full text:  
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2007-4/101907c.html
Also see Assistant Secretary Bill Evers’ letter elaborating on final guidance, 2008; and answers to related policy questions, 2008 (Scroll down).
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/index.html
And see Managing an Identity Crisis: Forum Guide on Implementing New Race and Ethnicity Categories, National Center for Education Statistics, 2008.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008802


Keeping Black Boys Out of Special Education
J. Kunjufu. (2005).  African Images, Chicago, Illinois.
Reviewed by the African American Literature Book Club, Harlem, New York.

“This critical analysis looks at the disproportionate number of African American males in special education.  Arguing that the problem is race and gender driven, questions covered include: (a) why does Europe send more females to special education?; (b) why does America lead the world in giving children Ritalin?; (c) is there a relationship between sugar, Ritalin, and cocaine?; and (d) is there a relationship between special education and prison?  More than 100 strategies to help teachers and parents keep Black boys in the regular classroom are described, such as revising teacher expectations, increasing parental involvement, changing teaching styles from a left-brain abstract approach to a right brain hands-on approach, redoing the curriculum, understanding the impact of mass media, and fostering healthy eating habits.”
For purchase – Barnes & Noble:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&isbn=0974900028


Latino Students and Disproportionality in Special Education
Center for Evaluation and Social Policy, Indiana University. (2008).
B. Perez, R. J. Skiba, & C-G. Chung.

This brief focuses “on the growing Latino community within Indiana.  Although there has been extensive discussion of the general topic of minority disproportionality, there has been far less attention paid to specific issues regarding Latino students and special education. The paper examines patterns of representation of Latino students in various disability categories and placement settings with a look at local, state, and national data. In particular, the brief focuses on the implications of emerging findings of Latino under-representation in special education.”
Full text:   http://ceep.indiana.edu/new/news_2008.shtml#3


Mapping the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track: Action Kit
Advancement Project, Washington DC. (2005).

“The Schoolhouse to Jailhouse action kit is  aimed at helping advocates organize campaigns against the over-use of zero tolerance school discipline and the growing reliance on police  and juvenile courts as disciplinarians.  This action kit provides guidance on how to dissect the schoolhouse to jailhouse track by collecting information and data about school discipline policies and practices  and analyzing and organizing the data.
Full text –  Scroll to Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Action Kit:
http://www.advancementproject.org/publications/opportunity-to-learn.php
Also see the Action Kit (first item on the list) -- A guide for communities


Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education
National Academies Press, Washington DC. (2002)
Committee on Minority Representation in Special Education, National Research Council.   M. S. Donovan and C. T. Cross. (Eds.).

This publication considers possible contributions to disproportionate representation, “including early biological and environmental influences and inequities in opportunities for preschool and K-12 education, as well as the possibilities of bias in the referral and assessment system that leads to placement in special programs. It examines the data on early childhood experience, on differences in educational opportunity, and on referral and placement. The book also considers whether disproportionate representation should be considered a problem. Do special education programs provide valuable educational services, or do they set students off on a path of lower educational expectations? Would students not now placed in gifted and talented programs benefit from raised expectations, more rigorous classes, and the gifted label, or would they suffer failure in classes for which they are unprepared?”  It includes recommendations for early intervention, general education, and changes in the referral and assessment processes.
For purchase, to download the summary, or to read online:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10128


National Disproportionate Minority Contact Databook (Juvenile Justice System)
The authors "highlight four elements of culturally- and linguistically-responsive prereferral intervention for culturally and linguistically diverse learners.  These elements are: (a) preventing underachievement and failure; (b) early intervention for struggling learners; (c) diagnostic/prescriptive teaching; and (d) availability of general education problem-solving supports systems."
Full text  -- Scroll down:  http://www.nccrest.org/publications/briefs.html


“This toolkit is designed to help decision-makers, advocates, and elected officials get better results in their work by providing equitable opportunities for all. The approach described in the toolkit deals specifically with policies and practices that contribute to inequitable outcomes for children, families, and communities. The toolkit presents a specific point of view on addressing unequal opportunities by race and simple, results-oriented steps to help you achieve your goals.”   The package includes (a) a user’s guide; (b) a PowerPoint to provide a shared understanding and language; (c) materials on evidence-based decision-making about racial disparities; (d) fact sheets on school readiness, education, youth in transition, juvenile justice, and many other topics; (e) how to talk about race; (f) racial equity impact analysis; (g) system reform strategies; (h) community-building strategies; and (i) organizational self-assessment.
Full text:   http://www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/PublicationsSeries/RaceMatters.aspx


Reducing Disparities Beginning in Early Childhood
National Center for Children in Poverty, Mailman School of Public Health,
Columbia University, New York City. (2007).  K. Johnson & S. Theberge.

“Early health risks and conditions can have long-range implications for physical, emotional, and intellectual development as well as health. Their contribution to disparities in health status, disabilities, and educational achievement is well documented. . . . Risks for disparate outcomes disproportionately affect young children, low-income children, and minority children. . . . But many risks can be addressed in the early years, starting with quality prenatal care and interventions in the earliest stages of life. Thus, literally, reducing disparities begins with babies.”  This paper reviews research on disparities with origins in early childhood, then provides an extensive set of strategies for State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems to “become informed, embed efforts in State plans, improve the cultural competency of services, and promote community supports to reduce disparities.”
Full text:   http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_744.html


Response to Intervention:  An Equity Perspective -- The Equity Assistance Centers Identify Civil Rights Concerns With the Implementation of Response to Intervention
Distributed by the Intercultural Development Research Association,
San Antonio, Texas, An Equity Assistance Center. (2008)

“The nation’s 10 equity assistance centers (EACs) are committed to the successful implementation of the Response to Intervention (RTI) frame at the state and local levels. It is clear to us that the successful implementation of RTI will require an approach that is other than “business as usual.” The EACs believe that business as usual historically has led to the over-representation of minorities in special education, the persistence of the achievement gap, the continuance of various systemic and individual acts of discrimination, and the impact of de facto segregation of students resulting from certain educational policies and practices that are still evident in our nation’s public schools. . . . For these patterns not to continue as the nation’s public education systems move forward, the EACs contend that there are some critical precautions to which educators and other stakeholders must attend or business will go on as usual.  It is unreasonable to expect that an innovation such as RTI will reach its desired outcome by simply being superimposed on an educational system that has produced a disproportionate representation of minorities, linguistically different and low-income learners in special education. The EACs believe that implementation of RTI will produce what has been produced for these populations without serious consideration being given to and action being taken on fundamental changes to support the RTI innovation.”  The paper discusses the issues and provides a set of recommendations.
Full text:   http://www.idra.org/South_Central_Collaborative_for_Equity/RTI/


Response to Intervention and the Disproportionate Representation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students
RTI Action Network, National Center for Learning Disabilities, New York City.  (2008).   J. L. Hosp.

The author reviews the history of disproportionate representation of culturally diverse students in special education.  This is followed by a discussion of how Response to Intervention might be able to address disproportionality.
Full text:  http://www.rtinetwork.org/Learn/Diversity/ar/DisproportionateRepresentation


Responsiveness to Intervention in the SLD Determination Process: Overview

This book “combines cutting-edge research and theory about students with disabilities with classic pieces that have influenced the special education field since the passage of the federal Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975.  (The book) pays particularly close attention to how inclusive education practices can best be promoted in the era of standards-based accountability.  In addition, it looks at special education among English-language learners and in early childhood classrooms, and offers new strategies for addressing the overrepresentation of African American and Latino students in special education. The volume also includes trenchant contributions . . . that challenge existing assumptions about disabilities, urging teachers and administrators to cast away tired notions that denigrate students with disabilities and stand in the way of equal education for all.”
For purchase:  http://www.hepg.org/hep/book/55

This information is an attempt to gather wide-ranging information in one place, to convey what others have accomplished, and to make valuable resources readily accessible.  Information is presented in the language of the developer, publisher, distributor, or author.  The Southeast Regional Resource Center has no ownership of anything described in this library.

Readers should review the copyright and distribution policies shown at the websites of the sources.  SERRC is not the source of any document in this library, but simply conveys information to show the availability of these resources.

The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position of policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and no endorsement of the U.S. Department of Education should be inferred.  Information from sources funded by the U.S. Department of Education is likely to have been vetted by the Department; information from other sources is unlikely to have been vetted.

---