Date of Award

Spring 5-11-2012

Degree Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education

First Advisor

Margie W. Crowe

Advisor Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education

Abstract

This is a study using archival data study that reflects the identification rates of Black students with Specific Learning Disabilities for four selected Mississippi Delta school districts. This study is relevant because of the court mandated requirements of the Mattie T. Revised Consent Decree (2003). There were no human participants involved in this study because the aggregated data was gathered from the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) website. The data was analyzed for compliance to the Mattie T. goal of achieving a 1.85% or less differential between the Black and Other racial groups as well as changes within three reporting periods. The findings of the study indicate that there are school districts within the state of Mississippi that are successfully meeting state and federal mandates with their identification and evaluation processes. Further, the study identified trends that if not addressed in the future, will result in noncompliance for some school districts. The recommendations from this study serve as a guide for these school districts and which Mississippi policy makers can make future legislative decisions.

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