§ 300.647 Determining significant disproportionality.

Plain English summary

This section establishes the methodology States must use to determine significant disproportionality in special education identification, placement, and discipline based on race and ethnicity. States are required to set reasonable risk ratio thresholds, minimum cell sizes, and minimum n-sizes — developed with stakeholder input — and apply them across specified racial/ethnic groups and outcome categories for each LEA. Limited flexibility allows States to delay identification for up to three consecutive years if an LEA demonstrates reasonable progress in lowering disproportionate risk ratios.

Key requirements

• The State must set a reasonable risk ratio threshold, reasonable minimum cell size, reasonable minimum n-size, and a standard for measuring reasonable progress if using the flexibility described in paragraph (d)(2).
• The standards set forth in paragraph (b)(1)(i) must be based on advice from stakeholders, including State Advisory Panels, as provided under section 612(a)(21)(D)(iii) of the Act, and are subject to monitoring and enforcement for reasonableness by the Secretary consistent with section 616 of the Act.
• A minimum cell size no greater than 10 and a minimum n-size no greater than 30 are presumptively reasonable.
• The State must apply the risk ratio threshold or thresholds to risk ratios or alternate risk ratios for each specified racial and ethnic group: Hispanic/Latino of any race; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; White; and Two or more races.
• The State must calculate the risk ratio for each LEA for each racial and ethnic group with respect to identification of children ages 3 through 21 as children with disabilities and as children with specific impairments including intellectual disabilities, specific learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, speech or language impairments, other health impairments, and autism.
• The State must calculate the risk ratio for each LEA for each racial and ethnic group with respect to specified placements and disciplinary removals including placement inside a regular class less than 40 percent of the day, inside separate schools and residential facilities, out-of-school suspensions and expulsions of 10 days or fewer, out-of-school suspensions and expulsions of more than 10 days, in-school suspensions of 10 days or fewer, in-school suspensions of more than 10 days, and disciplinary removals in total.
• The State must calculate an alternate risk ratio if the comparison group in the LEA does not meet the minimum cell size or the minimum n-size.
• Except as provided in paragraph (d), the State must identify as having significant disproportionality any LEA that has a risk ratio or alternate risk ratio for any racial or ethnic group in any of the specified categories that exceeds the risk ratio threshold set by the State for that category.
• The State must report all risk ratio thresholds, minimum cell sizes, minimum n-sizes, and standards for measuring reasonable progress, and the rationales for each, to the Department at a time and in a manner determined by the Secretary.
• A State is not required to calculate a risk ratio or alternate risk ratio if the particular racial or ethnic group being analyzed does not meet the minimum cell size or minimum n-size, or if the comparison group in the State does not meet the minimum cell size or minimum n-size when calculating the alternate risk ratio.
• A State is not required to identify an LEA as having significant disproportionality until the LEA has exceeded a risk ratio threshold for a racial or ethnic group in a specified category for up to three prior consecutive years preceding the identification, and the LEA has exceeded the risk ratio threshold and has failed to demonstrate reasonable progress in lowering the risk ratio or alternate risk ratio for the group and category in each of the two prior consecutive years.

Affected parties

• State educational agencies (SEAs)
• Local educational agencies (LEAs)
• State Advisory Panels
• Children with disabilities ages 3 through 21
• Racial and ethnic minority student groups
• U.S. Department of Education (Secretary)

Official source

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/part-300/section-300.647