Discrimination based issues are additionally under the jurisdiction of the Office for Civil Rights (TEA, n.d.). When discrimination reaches this level it has now reached a national level rather than a state level since the Office for Civil Rights is within the U.S. Department of Education. The Office of the Secretary oversees the U.S. Department of Education meaning they are responsible for guiding, directing, and reporting policies within education to the President or anything else related to education within the country (U.S Department of Education, 2009). 

I learned that there are many steps to be taken before something within education reaches the federal level and involves the U.S. Department of Education. Issues within education in Texas are usually governed by the TEA, however an issue such as discrimination is important enough that it is passed along to the federal level fairly quickly in comparison to to other issues.

References:

Texas Education Agency. (n.d.). Equal educational opportunity. 

https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea#:~:text=The%20Texas%20Education%20Agency%20is,and%20support%20to%20school%20systems.

U.S. Department of Education. (2009). Office of the Secretary. 

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/index.html?src=oc#:~:text=Office%20of%20the%20Secretary&text=The%20Secretary%20is%20responsible%20for,to%20education%20in%20the%20U.S.

From a professional perspective, a teacher of seven years, this is a topic that has been researched for decades within the realm of K-12 education. Teachers are only human, however this is definitely something that teachers need to make sure they are leaving bias out of. Special education is already a field with very high stakes and expectations to ensure that students are being educated and serviced fairly, so to add in a discrimination factor would be a very quick way to end a teaching career. There is a disproportionality of minority students in special education, however it does tend to depend on the location and district resources. Districts with well versed special education resources and programs have a higher tendency to be more balanced. 

The audience for this issue would be the students being tested for special education services, the referring teacher, and the special education department as whole for the district. I chose this topic truly due to how interesting it is to me. There is so much research out there about overrepresentation and underrepresentation of certain populations within special education so hopefully there will eventually be a more concise answer as to why this is. 

Reference:

Tefera, A. & Fischman, G. (2020). How and why context matters in the study of racial disproportionality in special education: Toward a critical disability education policy approach. Equity and Excellence in Education. https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=26&sid=cc06b73e-a4ca-4bfb-801a-78ae4c9d729f%40redis

• Students to be treated both fair and equal.

• Discrimination is not allowed when making decisions regarding a child's education.

• Even students in special education are required to be disciplined fairly and accurately when necessary.

Constitutional: The equal protection clause of the 14th amendment states that when a school is established within a state, under no circumstances should a student that lives in that state be denied the right to a free public education. This impacts the topic of disproportionality in special education because it sets the foundation for equal opportunity and a right to public education regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or anything else that would cause a bias (U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 2).

• Students have a right to a free and public education.

• Students cannot be denied the right to this education.

• Bias needs to be left out when dealing with a child's education at any level.

Reference:

Equal Protection Clause, (1868). U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 2 https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv

2 Tex. Educ. Code § 37.001 https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.37.htm

• Special education receives funding.

• This law states that because it receives funding, no discrimination may take place.

• Legal action could take place if this happens.

Statute: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 states students with disabilities are still guaranteed a quality education while also making it mandatory for those individuals to have access to special education services and accommodations (IDEA, 2004). This impacts this topic because it clearly explains that regardless of what a student is labeled as, they still have the right to an education. The racial bias that has been seen within special education should not be as prevalent if all of these students are still receiving an education. Consequences could include parents seeking legal action, a teacher being fired, or a teacher having their teaching certificate revoked or suspended.

• Students with disabilities are still guaranteed a quality education.

• These individuals are also guaranteed access to special education services such as accommodations.

• Parents could pursue legal action if this is not abided by.

• Teaching certificates could be suspended or revoked.

References:

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 (2004)  https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/

Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d, et seq. https://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/coord/titlevistat.php

• Disproportionality in special education is directly affected by this because it requires students to be zoned for a school, and they are not given a choice in the matter.

• This means that the school they are zoned for is responsible for adequately and fairly servicing its special education population regardless of location.

• These students did not get to choose so a fair education is still required.

Reference:

Green v. County School Board of New Kent County,  391 U.S. 430 (1968). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/391/430/

• This means that even students in special education are being held to a higher standard.

• This can cut down on discrimination in who is referred to special education services due to the fact that there are still very high standards in place for students within education.

• Standard is set concerning education for each child.

Reference:

Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2015). https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1177

• The reason for this policy is to ensure to parents that all students within the district will be treated equally and fairly.

• This impacts disproportionality within special education by setting a standard that the district already does not discriminate based on race, so there should be no racial bias when referring students to special education testing or services.

• There is a zero tolerance concerning this type of behavior within the district.

Reference:

Lubbock-Cooper ISD, (2019). Access to programs, services, and activities. Board Policy Manual. https://pol.tasb.org/PolicyOnline/PolicyDetails?key=833&code=GA#legalTabContent

• Bias within special education could fall under negligence if a student is not being referred to special education services based on a racial bias.

• Another example of this topic falling under negligence would be if a student is not being accommodated appropriately because of that same bias.

• If parents have a right to these records, they need to be made aware when changes to a student's IEP, individualized education plan, takes place.

• Parents can absolutely pursue legal action if they feel that there student is not receiving their accommodations that were agreed upon.

• The school should ensure these children are being educated and accommodated fairly through a series of strategies.

• The parents should be given plenty of notice about when a child's ARD, admission renewal and dismissal, meeting takes place to make sure they can attend and truly understand what is happening in their child's education.

• When accommodations are sent out, a read receipt should be attached so the district can see which teachers have viewed the IEP like they are supposed to.

• Any and all communication should be communicated regarding the child's progress regularly to eliminate any surprises that may upset the student or parent.

Reference:

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). (1974). (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html#:~:text=Get%20the%20Latest%20on%20FERPA,%3A%2F%2Fstudentprivacy.ed.gov%2F

Reference:

Educators’ Code of Ethics. 19 Tex. Admin. Code  § 247.2 (1998). https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=4&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=Y

I have realized I do not want to perform the hours that coaching requires forever, however I am still very passionate about public education. This is why I want to work in instructional coaching. By teaching teachers, I can help them find strategies to better service these students that need additional help. I can also help assist in finding new technologies that will continue to aid and help our special populations students. Achieving a master's degree in curriculum is a required stepping stone to this process that I am grateful for.