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IDEA: Further legal guidance is needed on the topic of SLD identification of students from low income households and accountability to use a team approach in SLD identification
Advocacy:  There is a need for improved programming and preventive programs/services specifically for students from low income households
Professional Development: Training for school psychologists on SLD identification for students from low income households
Established Process: A process should be developed that provides school psychologists with legally defensible procedures and tools to use in SLD identification for students from low income households.

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Based on the findings, a framework was developed that could aid school psychologists with SLD identification for students from low income households.

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Research Question One: How do school psychologists distinguish student deficits in academic achievement that are due to economic disadvantage from those that are caused by a disabling condition?

The study did not identify an established method or process used by school psychologists to distinguish whether student deficits in academic achievement were primarily a result of economic disadvantage rather than from a disabling condition.  Participants reported various ways they approach the mandate to determine whether the student’s suspected learning disability is primarily the result of economic disadvantage.  All participants attempt to gather information that will allow them to have a better understanding of student prior experiences related to their socio-economic status; however, this information is often lacking substance or is sometimes not readily available.  Despite having no guidance from their district on the topic, participants use their professional judgment to determine the impact of poverty on the student’s learning challenges.

Research Question Two: In what ways can school psychologists help students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds overcome barriers that may impede their academic performance?

The participants support students by conducting comprehensive evaluations that determine the student’s eligibility for special education services.  Through evaluations, the participants help students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds overcome barriers by providing recommendations that are unique to the student’s strengths and needs.  The schools in which they work have research-based instructional programs that they use as recommendations.

Research Question Three: In what ways are school psychologists taking precautions to limit misrepresentation of economically disadvantaged students as having a Specific Learning Disability when conducting Special Education evaluations?

Because of the lack of direction and guidance on the topic, the majority of participants do not make a conscious effort to limit the misrepresentation of students from economically disadvantage households with a SLD.  The school psychologists do not have a framework to defensibly present that a student’s learning challenges are primarily the result of economic disadvantage.  When students are referred for an evaluation because they are struggling academically, the participants feel pressured to identify students to be in need of Special Education services.

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Based on the findings and results of the study, four themes and six sub-themes emerged:

·      Theme One: School Psychologists Lack Established Process to Identify Economic Impact on Learning

o   Sub-Theme One: Pressure to Identify Students Despite Economic Disadvantage

·      Theme Two: School Psychologists Need to Know a Child’s Story

o   Sub-Theme One: School Psychologists Experience Barriers to Knowing a Child’s Story

·      Theme Three: Support Diverse Student Needs

o   Sub-Theme One: School Psychologists Experience Barriers in Supporting Diverse Student Needs

·      Theme Four: School Psychologists Need a Team

o   Sub-Theme One: Working with Parents and Building Trust

o   Sub-Theme Two: Coaching and Working with School Staff

o   Sub-Theme Three: Needing Additional Support in the Evaluation Process

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Executive Function

Comprising a number of cognitive processes that, over time, support children’s ability to increasingly regulate their own behavior and, in turn, develop greater social, emotional, and cognitive competence. These cognitive processes are thought to include working memory (the ability to pay attention and remember facts while using them to complete tasks), inhibitory control (the ability to follow rules, modulate emotions, and delay gratification), and cognitive flexibility (the ability to plan, make judgments, and self-correct). (Griffin, McCardle, & Freund, 2016, p. 4)

High-Needs School

Chronically under performing schools on state-wide assessments.

Poverty

The official poverty measure consists of a set of thresholds for families of different sizes and compositions that are compared to before-tax cash income to determine a family's poverty status (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017b).  The terms economically disadvantaged, poverty, and low income are used interchangeably throughout this document but represent students that meet the federal definition of poverty.

Specific Learning Disability

(i)             General. Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

(ii)           Disorders not included. Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic (IDEA Regulations, 2006, 34 CFR §300.8)

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SLD identification focused on school psychologists role and not the entire Multi-disciplinary team.

Research bias as having experience as a school psychologist

This study focused solely on economic disadvantage from a broad point of view.  It is understood that other confounding issues can affect a student’s learning, but a limitation of this study is that it only focused on the economic disadvantage as defined in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Title I.

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Theories, Concepts, and/or Conceptual Framework

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Theories, Concepts, and/or Conceptual Framework

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A grounded theory design utilizes a method that takes information from the field and organizes the data to find emerging themes (Creswell, 2018).  To obtain meaningful data from the field, school psychologists were interviewed on their experiences in evaluating students from low-income households.  Additionally, the economic disadvantage statement on evaluation reports was reviewed to examine the methods and wording used to describe the impact of economic disadvantage.

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This grounded theory study examined how school psychologists in high-needs elementary schools identify students who are economically disadvantaged when conducting evaluations to determine eligibility for special education services as students with SLD pursuant to IDEA (2004).  This study further explored the following questions:

1.     How do school psychologists distinguish student deficits in academic achievement that are due to economic disadvantage from those that are caused by a disabling condition?

2.      In what ways can school psychologists help students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds overcome barriers that may impede their academic performance?

3.     In what ways are school psychologists taking precautions to limit misrepresentation of economically disadvantaged students as having a Specific Learning Disability when conducting Special Education evaluations?

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Children living in poverty are disproportionally identified as having learning disabilities.  The disproportionate numbers may result from lack of resources needed for a fair chance to reach their potential.  Students who live in poverty may present with complex learning needs as a result of poverty’s impact on their brain development.  The repeated identification of a disproportionate group of students of poverty as having SLD calls into question the validity of the disability classification (Shifrer et al., 2011).

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This study is significant, as it examined how school psychologists in a school district located in the northeast region of the United States identify the impact of economic disadvantage when conducting evaluations to determine student eligibility for special education services as a student with a SLD.  The results of this study will be of particular interest to parents, educators, and policymakers.  As parents are made aware of the impact of socioeconomic status on brain development, they could be provided with strategies that can help improve outcomes for the family.  As for policymakers, there may be a need to revisit eligibility determination for special education services for these students and revise pre-referral methods.  Additionally, the study heightens the need for accurate identification and appropriate instructional strategies to minimize the adverse effects on students of poverty’s learning.  Many programs are geared towards helping students during the early childhood years, but continued support is needed as long as the student is in a state of poverty.

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The purpose of this study was to examine current practice in the evaluation of economically disadvantaged students and the identification of the impact of poverty on children’s learning abilities.  This study aimed to provide further data that could lead to improved outcomes for this population.  These are students who may have structural changes to the brain and will need procedures to identify appropriate educational programming as well as protective factors to lessen the chance for exposure to the negative effects of poverty.

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Specific Learning Disability (SLD) identification for students living in poverty

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When a student in a public school is suspected of having a Specific Learning Disability (SLD), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2004) mandates teams to not consider a student to have a SLD if the student’s learning is primarily the result of economic disadvantage.  This mandate is of growing importance as more and more children living in poverty are disproportionately identified as eligible for special education services as students with SLDs.  Literature reveals the impact of poverty on early brain development, which can have a profound effect on academic performance throughout a child’s entire educational career.  The purpose of this grounded theory study was to examine how school psychologists evaluate the impact of economic disadvantage when determining a student’s eligibility for a SLD.  This study consisted of conducting semi-structured interviews with school psychologists and collecting responses to the SLD economic disadvantage exclusionary clause on their written evaluation reports.  Results found that school psychologists work in conditions that lack explicit policies or procedures for ascertaining the negative impact economic disadvantage may have on student learning.  Accordingly, school psychologists typically rely upon their professional judgment as to the influence the student’s poverty may or may not have on their learning, and ultimately, on their disability categorization as a student with SLD.  This study highlights the need for improved SLD determination evaluation policies and procedures and intervening supports for students from economically disadvantaged households.

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Angel Shelley Royal has a strong commitment to providing superior programming for
children with special needs. She passionately advocates for the services that students with special
needs require to make life long gains. Angel has worked as a certified school psychologist for
nearly 15 years. In this position she works closely with all
members of the school community to provide consultation, intervention, and assessment to
promote student success, both academically and emotionally. Angel’s professional experiences
also include teaching special education and research on topics in urban studies and education.
Through experiences in special education and research, Angel developed a strong interest in
inclusion. She believes that each student’s unique strengths should be a major force in his or her
educational programming. Angel's goal is to continue her career in the field of education to
create and implement programs and services that better serve students, parents, and schools in
urban communities.
Dr. Royal recently completed her doctorate in Educational Leadership and
Management at Drexel University. She obtained a Master of Science degree in School
Psychology from Eastern University, Angel earned both a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and
Bachelor of Science in Special Education from Millersville University.

Supervising Professor:
Dr. Janet Sloand