Countering the Construction of Learning Disability: A Qualitative Investigation at the Meso-Level of Policy

We use critical qualitative methods to demonstrate how ambiguities present in definitions of learning disability (LD) and processes for determining LD eligibility under IDEA result in inequitable outcomes for minoritized students. To investigate this issue, we first outline how the LD label is situated within medical and psychological understandings of disability. We illustrate the limitations of these conceptions through composite stories based on our experiences as special educators who participated in LD eligibility determination meetings in schools serving minoritized students. Guided by a conceptual framework highlighting the interplay between macro policy and context on teacher’s decision making about LD we find decisions about LD are made without consideration of the impact of student’s intersecting marginalized identities. We conclude that LD eligibility determination must move away from deficit-oriented models such as the discrepancy model or RTI to one that acknowledges the interaction between the social construction of disability and race.