In this article, I propose a model to re-frame disproportionality research, which addresses key limitations in this literature. I present a brief overview of the problem and situate it in the historical context in which race and ability became intertwined. I then argue that a cultural-historical understanding of disproportionality requires sustained analytic attention to the historical link between race and ability, the role geographies of opportunity play in racial inequalities in special education, and the management of ecologies of difference in educational contexts. (Contains 4 notes and 4 figures.)