In a study which investigated whether there was bias in assigning students to special educational services, 199 teachers from different ethnic backgrounds responded to a specially constructed case history in which the ethnic background of the student was varied, by indicating whether they felt the youngster could be maintained in a classroom, or should be referred for specialized services. Results indicated (1) no evidence for bias according to the youngster's ethnic background, (2) differences in the incidence of referral by ethnic background of the teacher, and (3) an interaction which indicated that teachers tended to refer students whose ethnic background was identical to their own less frequently than they did youngsters of other ethnic backgrounds. (Author)