Current Research
Current Research
I link Texas education records with disability related claim data from the Federal Office of Civil Rights to test what predicts claims and how claims affect special education implementation. I find that short run special education trends are not strongly predictive of claims. Additionally, I find that claims decrease new enrollments into special education, while also increasing the rate at which already enrolled students are placed into less restrictive environments or removed from special education altogether.
Existing literature suggests students with disabilities benefit from additional services provided by special education programs. We use a novel dataset linking sibling information with Texas education records to examine the effects of a 2005 policy causing students on the margins of special education placement to lose access to special education services. Findings suggest that siblings of students who lose services have improved long-term outcomes, likely due to parents interpreting the loss of special education access as a positive signal and choosing to redistribute resources to their non-disabled children.
Evidence suggests that teacher student matching on demographic characteristics can improve student outcomes; however, minority teachers remain underrepresented in the field. Furthermore, many school districts are struggling to retain fully qualified teachers. Discriminatory employment practices threaten both goals, but may be addressed through employment discrimination litigation. We collect data on court cases in California and teacher employment data to estimate the effects on the rate of teachers with incomplete credentials, new hires, and teacher demographics.