The influence of descriptions of students' race and social behavior on teacher recommendations for referral to special education services was investigated. Two hundred and seventy-five Michigan secondary teachers responded to a survey in which they evaluated a fictitious student cumulative record folder for a 12-year-old seventh-grade male. Information differed only in racial image (as indicated by a label of Black or White, or by a photograph) and in written descriptions of social behavior. Teachers were asked to make recommendations regarding the need for special education services and to predict future reading levels and social adjustment. Among reported results were the following: (1) teachers tended to recommend equally both Black and White students for special services regardless of whether or not there was a stated behavior problem; (2) there was a relationship between predicted social adjustment and predicted reading ability, regardless of the race of the student; and (3) teachers referred students with ethnic backgrounds identical to their own less frequently than they did youngsters of other ethnic backgrounds. It was recommended that future research of a similar nature incorporate videotapes of student behaviors. (JW)