HISD’s focus on ‘over-identification’ of black students backfires Initiative has made it more difficult for all students to obtain services

Tra'Vris Williams, 14, of south Houston has failed the first grade and the sixth grade. He has been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and bi-polar disorder. The first time his mother tried to get his school to evaluate him, Wiliams was on third grade, the school didn't evaluate him, instead suggested 504 accommodations. Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, in Houston. ( Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle ) less Tra'Vris Williams, 14, of south Houston has failed the first grade and the sixth grade. He has been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and bi-polar disorder. The first time his mother tried ... more Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff Image 1 of / 65 Caption Close HISD’s focus on ‘over-identification’ of black students backfires 1 / 65 Back to Gallery

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For the past decade, one of the Houston Independent School District's biggest goals has been to reduce the "over-identification" of African-Americans in special education.

District officials have talked constantly about how black students in Houston, as in the rest of the country, are more likely to be placed in special education services than white students.

But dozens of current and former employees said the initiative has made it difficult for them to obtain special education evaluation and placement for students of all races.

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African-Americans in Houston are actually less likely to receive special education services than students of any race in almost any other big city in the United States, statistics show. Houston's overall special education rate of 7.26 percent is virtually last among the nation's 50 largest cities and less than half those in Boston or New York.

HISD's focus on the over-identification of African-Americans has also been called into question, according to education experts, by recent research showing that African-Americans are more prone to disabilities because they have higher rates of premature birth, fetal alcohol syndrome, malnutrition and exposure to toxins such as lead.

And in concentrating on the over-identification of African Americans, the district hasn't addressed the lower rates among other groups, especially Hispanics, who are less likely to get services, according to district data and records.

A special education Comprehensive Program Improvement Plan completed during the 2011-12 school year included a major goal to "decrease the over-representation of African American students with disabilities."

But when it came to Hispanics, the objective in the plan was to continue to ensure there was no over-identification, which in practice meant continuing their under-representation.

"During staff meetings, we were always, always told about over-identification," said Ann Fenner, who taught special ed at Durkee Elementary in north Houston between 1991 and 2011. "Nobody ever said anything about under-identification."

The attempt to fight over-identification began in the early 2000s and was encouraged by federal officials who named special education disproportionality — over- and under-identification — as a major issues.

HISD took the issue further, in part due to a 2011 audit commissioned by then-Superintendent Terry Grier that highlighted the disparity.

HISD has focused specifically on reducing the number of black boys in the special education categories of mental illness and intellectual disability.

Recently, the expert who conducted the audit, Thomas Hehir, a Harvard University professor and former U.S. Department of Education official, acknowledged in an interview that high-poverty school districts "should probably have higher special ed rates."

HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Is your school district denying special education services? Explore the numbers with our interactive tool

More than 76 percent of HISD students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, according to the district.

HISD's fight against "over-identification" has largely failed, statistics show. Black HISD students today are 34 percent more likely to be in special education than the district average, which is not much different than a decade ago, when they were 36 percent more likely to be in special education.

But while the effort has not accomplished its primary objective, employees said that pressure to avoid "over-identification" has led schools to be overly cautious about evaluating any students, African- American or not, for special education.

"We heard very clearly about 'over-identification," said Carolyn Baum, who spent 29 years with HISD's special education department before recently retiring.

"It definitely affected things."