African American students receive placements in special education in numbers disproportionate to their representation in the population at large. They are also placed in most restrictive settings in large numbers. The current quantitative study was designed to examine the influence of participation in ARD/IEP meetings by African American parents on the restrictiveness of placement outcomes for their children. The researcher used a quantitative, non-experimental, longitudinal approach to investigate the extent to which ethnicity and parent engagement in ARD/IEP meetings influenced the restrictiveness of placement for the Cohort 17 students. Research findings showed ethnicity, parent participation, and restrictiveness of placement to have significant impacts, but only when considered under very specific circumstances and conditions. In general, the rate of ARD/IEP participation was high for the parents of Cohort 17 members; although, the African American parents included in the study realized relatively lower participation rates. Research findings did not support parental participation in the meetings as having a direct influence on the restrictiveness of placements for the African American students represented in the study. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]