Deeqa Hussein, Founder and CEO of D.H Enterprise
Deeqa Hussein is a Special Education Consultant and teacher who currently works with elementary students with special needs in federal settings I-III. Deeqa has a master’s degree in Special Education, with a focus on Autism Spectrum Disorders from the University of St. Thomas, and a bachelor's degree in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences from the University of Minnesota. She has 7+ years of teaching experience, teaching in elementary, middle school, and high school both general and special education. In addition to English, Deeqa speaks Somali, Arabic, and Swahili.
After working as a special educator in many different capacities, Deeqa realized there are a number of disparities in the field of special education. One is an increase in the number of students qualifying for special education services with higher needs and schools not being able to manage the increased demand.
Another alarming issue is the deeply rooted and complex racial inequities that affect marginalized populations. For example, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students are disproportionately over-identified into certain disability categories and under-identified in others due to bias. Another disparity is the lack of BIPOC special education teachers, lowering the educational experience of students through representation. Deeqa also observed how uninformed parents are of their rights in the Individual Education Planning process, especially BIPOC parents. Thus, D.H Enterprise, LLC was founded to address some of the challenges that exist in the special education realm.
