Guardians of
Equity
Pomona Unified School District
Kathrine Morillo-Shone, SigDis Administrator
Renee Roy-Buckway, SigDis Teacher Specialist
Welcome and Warm-up
School site administrator will introduce their
team and say whether or not the school is one
of the six pilot sites for the 2013-14 school year.
Outcomes
Understand the concept of disproportionality
Connect the criteria for identifying students as
Emotionally Disturbed to the causes of
disproportionality.
Identify the key components of the SD-CEIS
Plan.
Develop an awareness the consequences of
failing to be guardians of equity.
Anticipation Reaction Survey
Please take a few minutes to
independently fill out only the
Anticipation column of the Anticipation
Reaction Survey
We will come back to it at the end of the
session today so please keep it
WHAT IS
DISPROPORTIONALITY?
What is Disproportionality?
Disproportionality or disproportionate
representation is the inappropriate
overrepresentation or over-identification of a
given population group, often defined by racial
and ethnic backgrounds, but also defined by
socioeconomic status, national origin, English
proficiency, gender, and sexual orientation, in a
specific population category.
Percentage of Designated Populations in
Special Education in Pomona USD?
Pomona’s District Population
Asian = 5.05%, African-American = 5.24% Hispanic = 84.57% White = 3.64%
(1,451)
Asian
14.68% of
Asian
Students
(213)
(1,505)
African
American
Hispanic
(22,757)
(1,060)
White
21.99% of 11.63% of 16.70%
African
Hispanic of White
American Students Students
Students
(177)
(2,647)
(331)
6
CAUSES OF
DISPROPORTIONALITY
Making the Abstract Concrete
Activity
How might this factor contribute to
disproportionality? Give examples.
What does this factor look like when it is
culturally responsive? Give examples.
REASONS FOR PUSD’s SigDis
STATUS
In July 2012, the Pomona Unified School District was
identified by the California Department of Education
(CDE) as significantly disproportionate in its over
identification of African Americans for Special
Education and related services in the area of emotional
disturbance for the academic year 2010-2011.
In July 2013, the Pomona Unified School District was
once again identified by the California Department of
Education (CDE) as significantly disproportionate in its
over identification of African Americans & White
students for Special Education and related services in
the area of emotional disturbance for the academic
year 2011-2012.
Begin with the End in Mind
SHORT- TERM GOAL:
Reduce by 5% the number of referrals to
special education for African American &
White student groups for each academic
year.
LONG- TERM GOAL:
Permanently exit the Significantly
Disproportionate status and fully
transform into a Culturally
Responsive and Equitable District
ED Eligibility
Ah-ha’s and Uh-oh’s
How objective is the eligibility criteria?
To what extent are the criteria open to
interpretation?
To what extent are the criteria vulnerable to cultural
biases?
Is it possible to misidentify or over-identify based
on the individual or cumulative criteria?
Is it possible that a temporary situation could cause
any of these behaviors described, but the child is
not truly Emotional Disturbed?
PILOT SCHOOL SITES
SPECIALIZED PLAN
What does this all mean for Pomona USD?
Gather additional data
Build capacity at all levels
Site Administrators
Teachers
Parents
Students
Intensive Professional Development on 4 focus areas:
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Response to Intervention and Instruction
Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (including SST)
Closing the Achievement Gap
K-3 Direct Intervention Supports
Intensive Progress Monitoring – CWT, Disproportionality Data Watch
LONG-TERM HARMFUL EFFECTS
-Once students are receiving special education services, they tend
to remain in special education classes (Harry & Klingner, 2006).
-Students are likely to encounter a limited, less rigorous
curriculum (Harry & Klingner, 2006).
-Lower expectations can lead to diminished academic and postsecondary opportunities (National Research Council, 2002; Harry
& Klingner, 2006).
-Students in special education programs can have less access to
academically able peers (Donovan & Cross, 2002).
-Disabled students are often stigmatized socially (National
Research Council, 2002).
-Disproportionality can contribute to significant racial separation
(Harry & Klingner, 2006; Losen & Orfield, 2002).
Center for Exceptional Children (2002)
What are the Consequences?
The achievement gap turns into the:
Earning Gap
Housing Gap
Healthcare Gap
_________ Gap (you fill in the blank)
We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow
is today. We are confronted with the fierce
urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum
of life and history there is such a thing as being
too late...We must move past indecisiveness to
action.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Thank you!
Please leave your surveys.
“The best case for public education
has always been that it is a
common good. Everyone
ultimately has a stake in the caliber
of schools, and education is
everyone’s business.”
—Fullan, 2003