Appendix A: Lozano Smith Attorneys at Law Opinion Letter
Propriety of Administering I.Q. Tests to African-American Students
Sarah E. Tigerman Attorney at Law E-Mail: stigerman@lozanosmith.com
March 18, 2002
OPINION LETTER
XXXX XXXXXXXXXX, Director Special Education XXXXX Unified School District
10615 Severan Street XXXXXXX, CA 90000
Re: Propriety of Administering I.Q. Tests to African-American Students
Dear XXXX:
You have requested our opinion regarding the effect of the Crawford v. Honig 1 decision on the propriety of using I.Q. testing with African-American students, assuming that the test is not culturally biased and is not used to identify students as “educable mentally retarded” (“EMR”). The short answer is that standardized tests of intelligence should not be used to determine special education eligibility for African-American students, pursuant to the stated policy of the California Department of Education (“CDE”). While the case law establishes that I.Q. testing of African-American students is only prohibited if used to determine placement in E MR classes or their “substantial equivalent,” the CDE’s policy is to prohibit the use of intelligence tests to assess special education eligibility of African- American students in general. Significantly, the CDE will make a finding of noncompliance if a district has used a prohibited test for assessing special education eligibility of African- American students.
1 37 F.3d 485 (9 th Cir. 1944).
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BP 5002 – Evaluation and Assessment
Page 15
Desert Mountain Special Education Local Plan Area (DMSELPA) (rev. 02/14)
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