Disproportionality in education is defined as the overrepresentation of specific racial or ethnic groups requiring special education (NJDOE New Jersey Department of Education [OSEP], 2018). Minority students who may be inappropriately identified as having disabilities may be harmed by being stigmatized with labels, experiencing lower expectations, receiving an inferior education, and not closing achievement gaps (Artiles et al., 2010). The Individuals With Disabilities Act (2004) responded to these concerns by requiring early intervening services for students who are struggling in school. Early intervening services, such Response to Intervention, Multi-tiered System of Support, New Jersey Tiered System of Support, and Intervention and Referral Services include interventions of short-term remediation and modified instructional techniques that may decrease unnecessary referral to special education. In this study, the researcher examined the perceptions of Directors of Special Services and Child Study Team (CST) members in disproportionate and proportionate districts to investigate early intervening services and their connection to referrals for special education services. Key findings revealed little difference in the perceptions between participants from disproportionate and proportionate districts. However, CST members perceived the early intervening services as less effective than the directors. One factor may be that the directors did not work directly with the early intervening team or the students. CST members, working with students and the intervening team, felt that there was minimal success due to limited data, students not staying in each tier long enough to make progress, and general education teachers not having the time or resources to successfully implement early intervening services. Finally, the dominant concern of the participants was the influx of second language students and the district's limited ability to provide the necessary intervention programs which, at times, led to special education referrals. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]