OSEP Fast Facts: Race and Ethnicity of Children with Disabilities Ages 5-21

What does the data tell us?

View the pictured infographic here that displays data collected by the US Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)

As you review it, consider:

• Look at the first two rows highlighted in yellow. These rows show the national population of ages 5–21 by race ethnicity and the percent of students by race and ethnicity served under IDEA, Part B.
• Look at the rest of the rows which demonstrate the percent of students with disabilities by race and ethnicity and disability category.
• Look at the rows for each disability category as compared to the first two rows.
• What surprises you about this figure?

Dig deeper and the data reveals some very troubling statistics, such as:

• Black or African American students with disabilities are more likely to be identified with intellectual disability or emotional disturbance than all students with disabilities and more likely to receive a disciplinary removal than all students with disabilities.
• Hispanic students with disabilities are more likely to be identified with hearing impairment or specific learning disability than all students with disabilities.
• White students with disabilities are more likely to be served inside a regular class 80% or more of the day than all students with disabilities and less likely to be identified with specific learning disability or intellectual disability than all students with disabilities.

To see the rest of the data, click the link here.