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Although this qualitative study showed promise for identifying factors contributing to the over-representation of Black students in special education, engaging in courageous conversations about race is clearly not an institutionalized practice in the schools represented in this study. However, as we consider the statistical facts, it is difficult not to think about racial inequality as a predominant factor causing today s achievement gap. It is our responsibility, as educators, to garner the courage to disaggregate and interpret the data through a cultural eye. Only then can we engage in courageous conversations about race in order to improve student achievement.

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David Roland Grice 3 Craigmore Road,Bloomfield CT EducationPh.D., Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI 2012M.Ed., National College of Education, Evanston, IL 1983Thesis: "Children´s Awareness of the Physical Atmosphere of the Classroom B.S., Elementary Education, Allen University, Columbia, SC, Cum Laude 1980

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