The over-representation of minorities in special education is a worldwide and long-standing problem, yet comparatively little has been done to remedy it. This problem is referred to as ‘disproportionality’ by researchers of the phenomenon. Throughout my career as an educator and as a student of Education, I have come to realize that my passion lies in two facets: the influence of the educational setting on young students and the bias that is unfortunately at play within those settings. It is hypocritical to teach and condemn inequities of the past without first solving the inequities within present school settings. In this paper, I claim that when minority students become cognizant of disproportionality, it has the potential to cause them psychological harm. Special education carries a stigma and when minority students see members of their cultural group placed in special education at higher rates than others, it creates an environment for cultural dissonance and questioning of their abilities. Raising our future members of society in prejudiced environments teaches students that intelligence and ability is dependant on ethnicity, and this has lasting negative repercussions for minority students. Educators often treat disproportionality as inevitable, but if they were made aware of the potential damage caused to minority students, they most certainly would not take this complacent attitude. By exposing the psychological effects that disproportionality can have on minority students, the issue becomes humanized which, I hope, will help educators understand the urgency of the problem.
