Feds fear imbalance of races in special ed 21 N.J. districts told to use U.S. funds to fix numbers Friday, October 12, 2007 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff State and federal regulators are cracking down on New Jersey school districts with large or disproportionate numbers of minority students in special education classes, concerned that some are being placed inappropriately. The heightened attention is an attempt to address what educators nationwide have long acknowledged as a vexing concern: Black and Hispanic students are much more likely to be classified for special education because of learning disabilities, emotional disorders or other problems. In New Brunswick, for example, black students are a quarter of all students, but a third of the special education population. And the disparities aren't just in impoverished cities; they exist in more affluent districts, like Montclair, Morris and Toms River. Now, under federal orders to all states, New Jersey officials have begun to single out dozens of districts for scrutiny, forcing ones with the most skewed numbers to use a portion of their federal funding to analyze and attack the imbalances. Forty New Jersey districts were cited this summer, with 21 required to shift $8.7 million in federal special education aid to new programs designed to prevent general education children from being inappropriately classified. "It's a very complex issue, and you really need to peel away at it," said Roberta Wohle, director of the state's special education office. "How are we making decisions in classifying students? Where are we placing students?" she said. "All of this is saying there may be practices that are different for different groups." Critics argue that officials may be too quick to classify minority students, particularly ones with behavioral problems, as a means of getting them out of mainstream classrooms. Officials concede that the disparities may have legitimate explanations -- everything from the disproportionate number of minority kids living in poverty to cultural differences that make some minority parents less likely to question authorities. Still, they are convinced that some minority children are being classified unnecessarily. "Special education is good for those that need it, but it's not good for those that don't," said Suzanne Hiatt, director of special services in Edison, one district being ordered to redirect funds. This is hardly a new dilemma, dating back nearly as far as special education itself. And it is by no means a small one. There are more than 200,000 special education students in New Jersey, about 17 percent of the total enrollment. One 2001 study found black students nationally are three times as likely to be classified as "mentally retarded" or "emotionally disturbed" as white students. The study's authors from the Civil Rights Project at UCLA said the disparity could not be explained away by socioeconomics, noting that the gaps persisted across income lines. Those and other statistics have prompted the federal government to press harder, and states this spring received orders from Washington to start identifying districts where the issue might be a problem. Those with the widest disparities are being forced to redirect 15 percent of their federal aid. That has meant big bucks in some of New Jersey's biggest districts. In Newark, the district redirected more than $1.6 million to a variety of programs, including the hiring and training of social workers, psychologists and teachers to serve as "behaviorists" to work on discipline problems that can quickly escalate into special education referrals. "There may be several stages to it (a child's misbehavior), each of them where there could be interventions you can act on," said Gary Knight, one of the new behaviorists who was training this week. Most district are using similar strategies, a form of preventive medicine that gets to children in general education before they begin the classification procedure. "This is a general education issue, hugely a general education issue," said Nancy Helterman, the special services director in Morris schools, where $200,000 in federal aid was shifted to "early intervening" programs like after-school tutoring and staff support. Montclair has grappled with the issue for years and was cited separately by the federal Office of Civil Rights in 2003 for its disproportionate numbers of African-American males in special education. Six percent of the district's African-American males are classified, compared to 4 percent of white males and 3.5 percent of African-American females, local officials said. Superintendent Frank Alvarez said the district now tracks students from the point a teacher identifies a problem to the point that student is classified. "We want to make sure they are not moving any faster with one race than another ... to make sure there isn't some inherent racism," he said. The notion that racism could be afoot -- either by individuals or institutions -- is a hot-button issue. Local and state officials said that is why a dispassionate review of the data is imperative. But in Elizabeth, where $800,000 in federal money is being shifted to attack the disproportionate number of black students being classified, special education supervisor Anne O'Dea notes that any examination of the data won't be a comfortable one. "At the heart of this are a lot of very tough questions that need to be raised," she said, "a lot of emotion-laden issues." John Mooney may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com or (973) 392-1548 © 2007 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.