MCPS says state identified continued disproportionality in suspensions for Black students with disabilities; $5,638,869 in IDEA funds targeted

Brenda Brown, assistant to the associate superintendent in the Office of Special Education, told the Montgomery County Public Schools Strategic Planning Committee on March 25 that the district remains identified for "significant disproportionality" in suspensions for Black and African American students who receive special education services and must direct a portion of federal IDEA funds to corrective actions.

"It is required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and we have to do this ongoing monitoring of disproportionality by race in areas of discipline, identification, and special education placement," Brown said. She told the committee that when a district is identified under the state process it must reallocate 15% of IDEA funds and added, "For those of you who would like to know, I would like to share that amount. It is $5,638,869 just to be clear."

Brown described how the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) identifies significant disproportionality using a lagging, risk‑ratio calculation. She said the district was identified based on two years of lagging data covering the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years and that MSDE’s next update — applying the subsequent lagged school years — typically…