From Margins to Center

Although the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was framed as a civil rights law, it has not eliminated racial disproportionality in special education. For decades, students of color—particularly in subjective categories such as learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, and intellectual disability—have been overidentified, segregated, and subjected to harsher discipline, fueling inequitable outcomes and school-to-prison pathways. IDEA’s monitoring system (e.g., Indicators 4, 9, and 10) seeks to address these inequities through technical risk ratio analyses and compliance requirements. However, research shows that such policy remedies often prioritize procedural compliance and color-evasive, decontextualized solutions rather than tackling the historical and structural roots of racism and ableism that shape disability identification and discipline. This chapter presents the Learning Lab methodology as a participatory, equity-oriented approach to localized policy development. Grounded in critical special education, the Learning Lab empowers school community members to co-design culturally responsive, race-conscious reforms that disrupt deficit-based narratives and promote inclusive, just educational futures.