ABSTRACT
Th e purpose of this chapter is to synthesize the scholarship on Latino students placed in special education and to discuss equity questions that are raised in this literature. Because Latino students constitute a minority1 group that has occupied a lower position in society, it is important to examine equity issues in the provision of educational services for this population. Our analysis is complicated by the fact that special education was created in response to civil rights concerns for students with disabilities. Th us, the question is oft en raised as to why placement in special education is deemed an equity concern for Latino students. Equity issues have been debated in this context for at least 40 years due to the disproportionate representation of racial minority students in special education (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Equity issues include questions about student misidentifi cation (i.e., over-or underrepresentation), and equally important, concerns about the long-term consequences of special education placement (e.g., persistent low achievement, high drop out rate, reduced access to higher education, lower occupational outcomes; Artiles, Trent, & Palmer, 2004).
