In poorer public school districts in Maryland, the percentage of
students receiving special education is disproportionately
higher than in wealthier districts, and has been since early
2000. It’s a nationwide trend that experts say isn’t necessarily
a bad thing, since schools in low-income areas have few other
ways to address poverty-related disadvantages that affect
students’ learning abilities. About 15 percent of students in
Maryland’s top five poorest school districts received special-
education services last year, compared to about 10 percent in
the five wealthiest districts, according to a Capital News
Service analysis of the most recent Maryland Department of
Education data. Unlike labeling a child blind or deaf, other
special-education codes — particularly “learning disabled” and
“emotionally disturbed” — aren’t as clearly defined and involve
“some judgment and subjectivity,” said Michael Petrilli,
executive vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a
nonprofit educational organization. Kids i