Office Disciplinary Referral Patterns of American Indian Students in Special Education

Abstract

Office disciplinary referrals (ODR) and classroom exclusions among students from minority backgrounds have been a persistent concern for decades. The purpose of this dissertation was to assess disciplinary characteristics of American Indian students in special education. More specifically, the purpose was to determine (a) the rate at which American Indian students in special education programs received ODRs in comparison to students in special education programs of differing races/ethnicities significantly represented in the population, (b) the rate at which American Indian boys in special education programs received ODRs in comparison to American Indian girls in special education programs, (c) the rate at which American Indian students in special education programs received ODRs in comparison to American Indian students who were not in special education programs, (d) the specific types of ODRs American Indian students in special education received, and (e) the impact race/ethnicity had on administrative decisions stemming from behavior violations. Logistic regression was used to examine ODRs for 10,469 students from kindergarten through 12th grade in two Southwestern public school districts with a large combined American Indian population (23.2%). Results indicated that although American Indian students in special education are less likely to obtain an ODR than Caucasian students in special education, and those ODRs are most often given for defiance, disrespect, and noncompliance, American Indian students in special education are still more likely to be given out-of-school suspensions and expulsions as an administrative consequence, than Caucasian students also in special education. Additionally, American Indian boys in special education were referred more than four times higher than American Indian girls in special education. Implications for practice and directions for future research which highlight culturally responsive disciplinary practices are provided.