Learning Disabilities IDed More In NY Kids Born Late In Year: IBO

NEW YORK CITY — New York City children born later in the year are more likely to be told they have learning disabilities, according to a new data analysis.

Children born in December are roughly 70 percent more likely to be classified as having a learning disability than those born in January, according to a new analysis from the Independent Budget Office.

"There is a strong relationship between birth-month and classification as a student with disabilities," the IBO reported.

"The longer a student had been in the school system, the more likely they were to be identified to receive special education services."

The IBO study examines elementary students identified as having among six disabilities — autism, emotional disturbance, intellectual disability, learning disability, speech and language impairment, or health impairment — in the 2017-18 school year.

While an average of 16.5 percent of children born in January were classified as having learning disabilities, that average spiked to 23 percent in December, data show.

Learning disability and communication impairment classifications — which are based on a student’s ability to read and write, converse and do math — saw the largest positive correlations with birth month, according to the IBO analysis.

IBO linked the correlation to New York City’s late age cut-off for public schools — Dec. 31, as opposed to the Sept. 1 cut-off for private schools.

Education experts fear children born later in the year are being compared unfavorably to older children for whom the curriculum was designed.

“New York’s Dec. 31 cutoff leads to unbalanced comparisons,” Mariana Souto-Manning, associate professor at Columbia’s Teachers College, told Chalkbeat reporter Amy Zimmer, who first requested IBO crunch the data.

“The misalignment of cut-offs ... end up pressuring New York education leaders and teachers to push-down academic skills in ways that are inappropriate.”