There are large differences in disabilities–or at least in disabilities treated in school–between black and white students. I don’t know if this is because students come to school with different disabilities, or if it is because the education system treats black and white students different with respect to disabilities.
I’ve made a chart that shows the relative probability of a black student being treated for a disability compared to a white student. (The underlying data is from the Digest of Education Statistics, 2013.) Areas in which black students are relatively more likely to receive disability services are shown in red and areas in which white students are more likely to receive services are show in blue. Overall, black students are modestly more likely to receive disability services. Black students are shockingly more likely to receive services for “Emotional Disturbance” or “Intellectual Disability.”
Any readers know what’s going on here?
2 Responses to Disabilities by race