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Repeal the Larry P. law (California, 1979) which prohibits using IQ-based testing with African-American children.

Created by A.B. on October 19, 2014

In 1979, California enacted the Larry P. law. It was established to combat the over-identification of African-American children for special education due to biases, including those on Intelligence Quotient (IQ) tests & other standardized measures that are related to IQ.

When a Black child in California is referred for special education, schools are not allowed to use IQ-based measures (including many speech/language tests) to gain a comprehensive picture of the child's skills and make appropriate decisions for the child's educational programming.

This law singles out one race, though biases also exist for others, and presumes that Black children are all the same, ignoring different socioeconomic, familial, cultural, & ethnic backgrounds.

The law is discriminatory and should be repealed.

Civil Rights & Equality
Education
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