Pre-referral interventions to reduce the over-representation of African-American students in special education

This study examines the over-representation of African-American students in\ud special education programs. Structured interviews were conducted with six special\ud education teachers from the San Diego Unified School District regarding the referral\ud of African-American students for special education or related services. The findings\ud revealed many similarities in the participant responses. Ultimately, this study\ud addresses the need for general education teachers to utilize pre-referral intervention\ud strategies in reducing the unwarranted referrals of African-American students for\ud special education.\ud Keywords: African-American,, intervention, over-representation, pre-referral, special\ud education, referra