The Disproportionality Series Final Episode: A Conversation with Alfredo Artiles

In the final episode of DiveIn’s Disproportionality Series, host Federico Waitoller welcomes back Alfredo Artiles—one of the leading scholars in the field and the very first guest ever featured on the podcast.

Drawing on more than three decades of research, Dr. Artiles challenges listeners to rethink disproportionality beyond simplistic debates about over- and underrepresentation in special education. Instead, he invites us to examine the historical, cultural, political, and institutional forces that shape how disability, race, and educational opportunity intersect.

This conversation explores:

• Why disproportionality cannot be understood outside of history and context
• The limitations of current research and policy approaches
• How race, disability, and inequity become intertwined through institutional practices
• The “equity paradox” of special education as both a site of support and exclusion
• What next-generation research and policy on disproportionality could look like

Throughout the episode, Dr. Artiles offers powerful examples, provocative critiques, and hopeful possibilities for reimagining teaching, learning, and advocacy for students with disabilities.

Whether you are a researcher, educator, policymaker, student, or advocate, this episode offers a deeply reflective and intellectually engaging conclusion to one of DiveIn’s most important series to date.

TRASNCRIPT OF EPISODE