Season of Birth of Students Receiving Special Education Services Under a Diagnosis of Emotional and Behavioral Disorder Nicholas Polizzi and Roy P. Martin University of Georgia Stefan C. Dombrowski Rider University For several decades, evidence has been accumulating that pathologies of the central nervous system occur more frequency for persons born between January and June than during the remainder of the year. The strongest findings are for schizophrenia, but associations have been reported for a range of mental illnesses. The purpose of the current study was to extend this research to children receiving special education services for behavioral and emotional disorder. A sample in excess of 8,000 was studied from northern Georgia. The results strongly indicate that fewer than expected numbers of students are diagnosed as having a behavioral and emotional disorder if they are born during the fall months, and a greater than expected number are born during the late spring and summer. These findings could be the result of prenatal insults or could be related to relative age-in-grade. The implica- tions of these interpretations for school psychology are discussed. Keywords: emotional disturbance, special education, season-of-birth, age-in-grade For decades, researchers have been reporting that persons with a range of medical pathologies have birth patterns that differ from those of the general population (Barry & Barry, 1931; Dalen, 1975). This line of inquiry has often been referred to as “season-of-birth research,” although birth patterns have been studied on a weekly, monthly, or seasonal basis. The Nicholas C. Polizzi, MEd, is a doctoral student in School Psychology at the University of Georgia. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and was a middle school teacher before entering the program. In addition to his work in Educational and School Psychology, Nicholas is a supervisor of practice teachers at the University of Georgia. His research interests are in prenatal issues as they affect children receiving special education in public schools and in factors affecting beginning teachers’ performance on the job. The PhD School Psychology Program at the University of Georgia is accredited by the APA. School Psychology Quarterly Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association 2007, Vol. 22, No. 1, 44 –57 1045-3830/07/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1045-3830.22.1.44 44