Hispanic students or Latinx, the most appropriate and gender-neutral version of Latino/Hispanic, is the largest ethnic group in California. Latinx students comprise students from a Latin American background and also from diverse racial and linguistic backgrounds. Hence, the term Latinx is not a racial category nor a linguistic category. The term “Latinx” highlights a background from a Latin-American geographical area (e.g., Mexico, Colombia, the Caribbean, Central America, etc.). Latinx students are Asian, Black, White and/or Indigenous/American Indian. This creates a distinctive nonracial ethnic group weaved together in a tapestry of European colonial history, Indigenous roots, and the Spanish language. Given the limitations of the social construct of “Hispanic/Latinx” it would be wise to take any generalizations for this group of students with a grain of salt. Generalizations made using the Latinx or Hispanic labels are many (both positive and negative), but in this paper, we focus on one issue of equity for this group of students: disproportionality in special education.

Disproportionality in special education is defined as the under/over representation of racial/ethnic groups in special education (Cruz & Rodl, 2018). In California, the most diverse state in the nation, Latinx students represent more than half of the public school system population (54 percent). It should be noted that many Latinx students, but not all, are also considered English Learners. In California, 81 percent of English Learners speak Spanish at home. Notably, during the 2018-2019 school year, a total of 61 Local Educational Agencies were found significantly disproportionate (i.e., at least three years in a row) for Latinx students in special education. The majority of these LEAs were found significantly disproportionate in the area of Specific Learning Disability for Latinx students (CDE, 2020). Moreover, LEAs significantly disproportionate for Latinx students represented the second-highest number of districts identified as having significant disproportionality in the 2018-2019 school year, after districts with disproportionality for African American students.

The convergence of language, culture and academic ability results in complex possible root causes of disproportionality for Latinx students. Latinx students have become a minority-majority of students in California. One must consider the cultural experiences of Latinx students and the challenges associated with language acquisition for Latinx students who are learning English. To reduce disproportionality and systemic inequities in special education and as part of the State Performance Plan Technical Assistance Project funded in part by CDE, we work with LEAs to gather data to identify possible root causes of disproportionality. Importantly, the SPP-TAP works with districts to design plans and implement initiatives to tackle the identified root causes using quantitative and qualitative data. As part of the SPP-TAP work, we have found some emerging root causes across districts and geographical areas in California. The following are some examples of these root causes followed by recommendations on how to address each of them.

Pre-referral process and data collection. There seem to be emerging trends in terms of areas of need for pre-referral processes (i.e., before a special education assessment) of children that might disproportionately affect Latinx children. One of these common trends is the need for consistent, culturally sensitive/culturally sustaining multi-tiered systems of support. As one administrator puts it: “If a student struggles in class, special education is the next thing.” This is particularly important for Latinx students who are English Learners, who may need specific strategies and pre-assessment tools to get at the nuanced intersection of language and culture. As one Speech and Language Therapist told us: “English Language Learners are sometimes assessed for special education because they do not speak English.” As a result, examining the complex interaction of language acquisition, culture and language may help mitigate disproportionality in special education. While not all Latinx students speak Spanish or are English Learners, it can be argued that the Spanish language background is one of the most distinctive characteristics of this student population. Research is clear that all students working to learn English can face unique challenges in schools (California Department of Education, 2020). In California, 81 percent of the 1.1 million English Language Learners identify Spanish as their primary language (CDE, 2020). The need to improve the achievement of English Learners as well as the achievement of students with disabilities have been highlighted as priorities in the Local Control Accountability Plan. Analysis of 2019-2020 data suggests there may be a connection between students struggling to learn English and disabilities. Of the nearly 450,000 sixth through 12th grade students receiving EL instruction, more 45 percent are designated Long-Term English Learners. After six years of instruction these students are making minimal progress toward English proficiency (CDE, 2020). In short, these students are 279 percent more likely to be identified as disabled than the general student population. In total, one out of every three students of the 204,000 LTEL students in California are identified as having a disability. Education leaders may want to examine their LTEL data and consider how a lack of progress toward English Language proficiency may contribute to the overrepresentation of Latinx students in special education.