Washington Has Tried Twice to Stop Measuring Racial Bias in Special Education

Two kids walk into the same school with the same reading struggles. One gets referred for special education testing. The other doesn't. If race predicts which kid gets tested, which kid gets placed in a separate classroom, or which kid gets suspended for the same behavior, that pattern has a name.

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What Disproportionality Means in Special Education

It's called disproportionality. It matters because an evaluation, a placement, and a discipline record follow a child for years, and none of those decisions are supposed to turn on what a student looks like. There's a federal rule built to catch that pattern and force districts to fix it. In the last twelve months, Washington has tried to weaken it twice.

Equity in IDEA: The Rule Built to Catch It

Equity in IDEA is the regulation behind that rule, and most parents have never heard of it, though every advocate knows it cold. Districts get measured every year, across 14 categories, covering who gets identified with a disability, where they're placed, and how they're disciplined. If a district crosses the threshold for significant disproportionality, it has to set aside 15 percent of its federal IDEA Part B funds for programs that address the disparity. Real money. Real consequence.

Two Moves to Weaken It in Twelve Months

The first move came quietly, through paperwork. In August 2025, the Department proposed removing the significant disproportionality data collection from the Annual State Application that states file every year. No public fight over the underlying rule. Just a proposal to stop requiring the data that makes the rule enforceable. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights filed one of the comments opposing it in October 2025. A coalition of twenty organizations followed up again in February 2026, urging the Department to rescind the change.

The second move came over a holiday weekend. On July 5, 2026, the Department announced in its regulatory agenda that it also plans to formally amend the Equity in IDEA regulation itself, with a proposed rule expected in August. Nobody outside the agency knows yet what it will change. Two separate tracks, aimed at the same target, twelve months apart.

This Fight Has Happened Before

During the first Trump administration, the Department tried to delay compliance with the same rule. COPAA sued, and won. The rule was back in full force by April 2019. Compliance phased in over the following two years, and as it did, the number of districts flagged for significant disproportionality doubled, though flagged districts still made up only about 5 percent of districts nationwide.

The Politics Behind the Proposal

None of this is happening in a vacuum. The administration's broader deregulatory agenda for 2026 says the goal is to "eradicate the ideology of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" across the federal government. That line describes the whole agenda, not this rule specifically, but it's the philosophy this proposal sits inside. Selene Almazan, COPAA's legal director, sees real stakes in it. She's called the move deeply troubling and says it threatens to undo two decades of work to address racial disparities in identification, discipline, and segregation.

The Research Is More Contested Than Either Side Admits

Almazan represents one side of this fight. But the underlying research isn't as settled as either side's talking points suggest. Daniel Losen, at the National Center for Youth Law, has spent decades studying this and finds substantial, long-running racial disparities, especially in discipline. Paul Morgan, at the University at Albany, has studied it too, and finds something close to the opposite: among students with similar backgrounds and needs, racial, ethnic, and language minority students are identified with disabilities less often than white, English-speaking students, not more. Both are real researchers publishing real data. Neither has the full picture, and Highlighter isn't going to pretend one of them does.

The Stakes for Families

What isn't in dispute is what disappears if both of these moves succeed. Right now there's a standard method, a funding consequence, and a federal mechanism that forces districts to act when the numbers cross a line. Even without Equity in IDEA, states are still required under IDEA itself to look for racial disparities in special education. But a requirement without a method and without money attached is one schools can quietly ignore.

A comment period is coming once the August proposal drops. It's one of the few places where a parent's voice counts exactly as much as a school district's.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does disproportionality mean in special education?

Disproportionality in special education happens when a student's race predicts outcomes that should turn only on their disability and educational need, such as whether they get referred for testing, how they're placed, or how often they're disciplined. Federal law requires states to track this under IDEA Section 618(d).

What is the Equity in IDEA rule?

Equity in IDEA is the federal regulation, found at 34 CFR 300.646 and 300.647, that requires states to measure racial and ethnic disparities in special education across 14 categories covering identification, placement, and discipline. Districts found to have significant disproportionality must reserve 15 percent of their IDEA Part B funds for programs that address the disparity.

Is the federal government changing the rule that tracks disproportionality in special education?

Yes. The Department of Education has two separate actions underway. Since August 2025, it has proposed removing the significant disproportionality data collection from the Annual State Application. In July 2026, it also announced plans to formally amend the underlying Equity in IDEA regulation, with a proposed rule expected in August 2026.

What happens if a school district is found to have significant disproportionality?

A district identified with significant disproportionality must reserve 15 percent of its IDEA Part B funds for comprehensive coordinated early intervening services, which are programs designed to address the disparity and support students at risk of being inappropriately identified, placed, or disciplined.

Does research agree that racial bias causes overidentification in special education?

No. Researchers are divided. Some, including Daniel Losen at the National Center for Youth Law, find persistent racial disparities in special education, especially in discipline. Others, including Paul Morgan at the University at Albany, find that white, English-speaking students are identified with disabilities more often than similarly situated students from racial, ethnic, or language minority groups.

What can parents do if they're concerned about racial bias in their district's special education process?

Parents can request their state's significant disproportionality data, which is public, and ask their district directly whether it has ever been identified. Filing a state complaint is also an option if a parent believes their child's evaluation, placement, or discipline was affected by bias, regardless of what happens to the federal reporting rule.