Chapter 5: Educating African American Learners with Special Needs

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children with disabilities all too often experience inadequate services, low-quality curriculum and instruction, and unnecessary isolation from their nondisabled peers. Moreover, inappropriate practices in both general and special education classrooms have resulted in overrepresentation, misclassification, and hardship for CLD students, particularly African American children. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education (2010) estimates showed that about 5.8 million of the nation’s schoolchildren, ages 6 to 21, were receiving special education services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Approximately 61% of those students have specific learning disabilities or speech and language impairments. Only about 8% are diagnosed with significant cognitive disabilities, such as cognitive disability or traumatic brain injury.