No Child Left Behind has mandated that all students reach proficiency by 2014. This mandate places special emphasis on the performance of special education students. The purpose of this study is to use social theory to understand the factors that explain the achievement of emotionally or behaviorally disordered (E/BD) students. Results suggest a differential effect of neighborhood composition on the development of social ties for Black and White E/BD students. The author argues for an increased awareness of the development of within-school social ties that integrate groups. (Contains 9 tables.)