Impact of Instructional Consultation Teams on the Disproportionate Referral and Placement of Minority Students in Special Education

Abstract

The current study investigated the impact of implementing Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams) on the disproportionate referral and placement of minority students into special education. Data were collected on referral and placement patterns of minority students in 13 IC Teams schools and 9 comparison schools. Three accepted indices of disproportionality—including risk indexes, odds ratios, and composition indexes—were calculated and analyzed for the baseline and for 2 years of project implementation. After 2 years of implementation, there were significant decreases in the risk of minority students in IC Team project schools being referred to and placed in special education when compared to nonproject schools. Moreover, the odds of minority students' being referred and placed in special education decreased by almost half in IC Team schools. Similar decreases in IC Team schools were noted when analyzing the composition indexes. The current findings also highlight the influence that quality classroom instructional practices have on the referral and placement of minority students for special education services.

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