We employ the metaphor of an educational ecosystem to explain how racial inequity in special education manifests in a midsized urban school district via equity expressions and experiences. We focus on two ecosystems operating at the mesol-evel within school districts:1) special education and 2) equity ecosystems. We show how these educational ecosystems converge and diverge when a state education agency (SEA) cites a local education agency (LEA) via federal disability legislation for racial disparities in special education outcomes—commonly referred to as racial disproportionality. Using document analysis and semistructured interview data, we empirically examine how equity and special education ecosystems converge and diverge and discuss the implications for addressing racialized inequities. We highlight that there was limited equity absorption across the two ecosystems and how racism and ableism are implicated in the convergences and divergences between the two systems. We conclude with recommendations for policy and practice.

中文翻译：

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相应的交叉点：检查特殊教育生态系统内的公平表达和经验

我们用教育生态系统的比喻来解释特殊教育中的种族不平等如何通过公平的表达和经验在中型城市学区中体现。我们重点关注学区内中层运行的两个生态系统：1) 特殊教育和 2) 公平生态系统。我们展示了当州教育机构 (SEA) 通过联邦残疾立法引用地方教育机构 (LEA) 的特殊教育成果中的种族差异（通常称为种族比例失调）时，这些教育生态系统如何趋同和分化。使用文档分析和半结构化访谈数据，我们实证研究了公平和特殊教育生态系统如何趋同和分歧，并讨论了解决种族不平等问题的影响。我们强调，两个生态系统的股权吸收有限，以及两个系统之间的趋同和分歧如何涉及种族主义和体能歧视。最后我们提出了政策和实践建议。