Updated, December 2010
Indicator 4 addresses the issue of disproportionality in the number of students with disabilities who are suspended or expelled from school, as compared with the suspension/expulsion rates of students without disabilities. The indicator also addresses concerns that students with disabilities from particular race or ethnic groups may be suspended or expelled disproportionately more (or less) than other students with disabilities not from those race or ethnic groups.
To address the problem of disproportionality, which is well-documented, a State has to know it has a problem—in other words, that there’s a significant discrepancy in its rates of suspension and expulsion for various groups of students. Indicator 4 is intended to gather the data necessary to identify whether such significant discrepancies exist in a State’s disciplinary practices.
Indicator 4 reads as follows:
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Rates of suspension and expulsion:
A. Percent of districts identified by the State as having a significant discrepancy in the rates of suspensions and expulsions of children with disabilities for greater than 10 days in a school year; and
B. Percent of districts identified by the State as having a significant discrepancy in the rates of suspensions and expulsions of greater than 10 days in a school year of children with disabilities by race and ethnicity. [20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(3)(A); 1412(a)(22)]
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Resources to Support Data Gathering in This Indicator Area
Guidance documents on Indicator 4.
http://spp-apr-calendar.tadnet.org/byindicator.html#b_indicator_4
And technical assistance.
http://spp-apr-calendar.rrfcnetwork.org/explorer/view/id/449
Resources, research, state examples, and policies related to Indicator 4.
The SPP/APR calendar was designed to assist States with the preparation and timely completion of their State Performance Plans and Annual Performance Reports. The tabs in this section will lead you to helpful resources focused specifically on Indicator 4.
http://spp-apr-calendar.rrfcnetwork.org/explorer/view/id/449?4#category4
Resources to Support Addressing Disproportionality in Disciplinary Practices
State definitions of “significant discrepancy.”
A 7-page brief from Project Forum, from July 2007.
http://www.projectforum.org/docs/StateDefinitionsofSignificantDisproportionality.pdf
Under what circumstances can schools suspend or expel students with disabilities?
Visit NICHCY and find out the nitty gritty of what IDEA’s discipline procedures allow.
http://www.nichcy.org/schoolage/placement/disciplineplacements/
Why does this indicator require data be collected on students’ race and ethnicity?
The disproportionate discipline of minorities in school has been well-documented over the years and persists as an area of concern. Collecting data on the race and ethnicity of students with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school gives schools and OSEP a means by which to identify significant discrepancies in how students are being disciplined. Read more in this Education Rights Center’s 2-page discussion.
http://www.educationrightscenter.org/Discipline.html
Need help with how to crunch your data?
Visit the Data Accountability Center. The Center provides guidance on reporting data about children with disabilities served under IDEA.
https://www.ideadata.org/index.html
Don’t let suspensions and expulsions lead to increased drop out rates.
The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) supports states in assisting local education agencies to increase school completion rates and decrease dropout rates among students with disabilities.
http://www.ndpc-sd.org/
Use positive behavioral interventions and supports to deal with behavior problems.
The OSEP-funded National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports was established to address the behavioral and discipline systems needed for successful learning and social development of students. The Center provides capacity-building information and technical support about behavioral systems to assist states and districts in the design of effective schools.
http://www.pbis.org
Learn more about dispute resolution and mediation.
The Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE) works to increase the nation’s capacity to effectively resolve special education disputes, reducing the use of expensive adversarial processes. CADRE works with state and local education and early intervention systems, parent centers, families and educators to improve programs and results for children with disabilities
www.directionservice.org/cadre
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