Distinguished Professor named co-PI for IES grant to analyze special education services

George Farkas, UCI Distinguished Professor of education, has been named co-PI for a two-year, $500,000 Institute of Education Sciences grant that will analyze special education services. The team will examine data from the 1998 and 2011 Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies, as well as seven National Assessment of Education Progress reports dating back to 2003. In his previous research, Farkas has found that nonwhite students with similar needs experience much lower special education placement rates than white students. “This is an important project, because when nonwhite students are denied these services, their academic careers are seriously jeopardized. Special education is one of the few programs with a mandated budget that can be used to help them catch up,” he said. Study findings will show how long under-representation has been occurring, whether it has recently gotten more extreme, and for which students. Co-PIs, both from Pennsylvania State University, are Paul Morgan, professor of education, and Marianne M. Hillemeier, professor emerita of health policy and administration and demography.