Black students in Montgomery County schools’ special education programs are two and a half times as likely as their peers to be labeled as mentally retarded, and nearly twice as likely to be labeled with an emotional disturbance, according to 2006 figures collected by the Montgomery County Council.
In a district where black students make up 23 percent of the nearly 140,000-member student body, black children represent 40 percent of the cases of emotional disturbance and 42 percent of mental retardation cases.
The county “has recognized it and is taking steps to correct it,” said Mike Knapp, president of the County Council. “It’s not new, and it’s troubling, but it’s not anything that can change tomorrow.”
In 2005, parents picketed the school board, complaining schools used special education programs as a dumping ground for poorly performing black students.
To address the problem, the district began a more focused approach to uncover patterns by school and grade level. Schools that show disproportional labeling will address it in yearly school improvement plans, according to Kate Harrison, spokeswoman for the district.
The county’s statistics are worse than numbers nationwide, where black children represent 17 percent of total students and 21 percent of students labeled with a learning disability, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
As in Montgomery County, percentages rise for emotional disorders and mental retardation. Throughout the country, black students represent 29 percent of emotional disorders and 33 percent of mental retardation.
“We know race is an issue in public education,” said Nancy Tidwell, president of the National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities. “Most of the teachers in our public school system are white, middle class women who have some difficulty understanding different cultures.”
Tidwell also recognized the disproportionate effect of poverty and poor schools on black students, especially those with disabilities.
Since founding the organization in 2000, though, Tidwell hasn’t seen much progress. The statistics in Montgomery County, she said, “are the same statistics we’ve been living with the entire time.”
Counted out?
A look at special education in Montgomery County, where 43 percent of students are white, 23 percent black, 20 percent Hispanics and 15 percent Asian:
Students labeled with emotional disturbance:
» White: 46 percent
» Black: 40 percent
» Hispanic: 11 percent
» Asian: 3 percent
Students labeled with mental retardation:
» Black: 42 percent
» White: 31 percent
» Hispanic: 18 percent
» Asian: 9 percent
Montgomery County Council 2006 Survey
