Publications

Technical Assistance Manual

Equity in Education: Addressing racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education
The Equity in Education manual is intended to provide school districts with detailed data-driven processes for identifying the root causes of disproportionality in their district and ensure equitable outcomes. This manual is the culmination of over 1,000 hours of training with over 900 practitioners throughout New York State from 2004 to 2008. A major premise of the modules involves understanding disproportionality as an outcome of policies, practices, and beliefs. At the end of this data-driven process, school districts will be able to identify policies, practices, and beliefs implicated in their disproportionality patterns and, more importantly, develop systemwide buy-in and perspective of this equity issue.

Promising Practice Briefs

RTI, Disproportionality and Promising Practices: A Three-Part Article Article 1: Framing Urban School Challenges: The Problems to Examine When Implementing RTI Article 2: Cultural Adaptations When Implementing RTI in Urban Settings Article 3: Promising Examples of RTI Practices for Urban Schools
The Metro Center's Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality (TACD) staff recently published with the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) a three-part series on RTI and Urban Schools. The first article provides a landscape of the challenges faced by urban schools that complicate the effective implementation of RTI. The second article considers the cultural dimensions that are pivotal in RTI implementation in urban school environments. And finally the third article provides examples of promising practice occurring in urban schools.
Distinguishing Difference from Disability: The Common Causes of Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education
This Equity In Action is intended to provide educators and researchers with the most comprehensive, praxis-oriented information on identifying and reducing disproportionality in schools. Over the course of developing and piloting a data-driven process (2004-2010) for identifying root causes, we’ve gained insight into not only the root causes but also the driving forces (internal and external to district) of these root causes. Our data driven root cause process focused on examining various areas of the schooling process in order to understand the interaction of school practice (inputs) and student outcomes.
Academic Interventions for Struggling Learners
Academic Interventions for Struggling Learners brief addresses the purpose of instructional support teams, elements of culturally responsive instruction and provide resources for response to interventions.
Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Strategies
Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Strategiesbrief addresses the essential elements of creating culturally responsive context and ways in which teachers can implement strategies in their classrooms.
Culturally Responsive Differientiated Instruction Strategies
Culturally Responsive Differentiated Instruction brief addresses what is differientiated instruction and how it applies teaching and learning for diverse learners. Not all students are alike and they learn on multiple levels. Differentiated Instruction recognizes student's varying background knowledge, readiness, language, preferences in learning, and interests, and assists teachers in knowing how to differentiate instruction given these various learning areas. This brief provides information on the principles of differentiated instruction and resources.

Data Analysis Workbook

Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education provides basic quantitative methods used to explore disproportionality. It demonstrates how to use a set of district data with the most common formulas for uncovering possible instances of disproportionality as well as examine and interpret the results of the formulas. Download the Powerpoint, Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education to use with the workbook.

Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education
The Powerpoint provides a clear defination of disproportionality, how it's measured, as well as an overview of how to use the data analysis workbook. To use the powerpoint you must download the Data Analysis Workbook.