ABSTRACT
The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to explore the perceptions of educational decision-makers regarding the importance of factors that relate to educational decision-making for racially, ethnically, or linguistically minoritized students who may have disabilities. Further, the researchers explored the relationship between the cultural intelligence of educational decision-makers and their perceptions of the importance of factors that relate to educational decision-making. Educational decision-makers (n = 120) included teachers, school psychologists, and local education agents. Results revealed that participants perceived factors related to prereferral/referral processes to be more important in decision-making when compared to factors related to eligibility determination; yet participants self-reported feeling more confidence in making decisions involving eligibility determination. Cultural intelligence was found to be a significant predictor of participants’ reported confidence for making such decisions. Participants found language to be a particularly important area to consider in their decision-making. Findings may serve to inform equitable special education policies and practice and improve educational decision-making regarding students with diverse educational needs.
