Federal data released by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that the gap between discipline cases of white and non-white students is growing.
According to their Civil Rights data collection for the 2015-2016 school year released in April 2018, the disparity between discipline cases is wider than recent years in the past.
Most alarming is that there has been a significant increase in the gap between arrests and referrals to police for black students and non-black students. Black students are significantly more likely to experience these referrals than other students. Additionally, the report also notes that students with disabilities are still “vastly over-represented” among students involved in police interactions.
The information comes from more than 96,300 schools nationwide, and represents 50.6 million students.
The report also details that though black boys and girls each account for 8 percent of all students, black boys made up 25 percent of all students suspended out of school in 2015-16, and black girls — 14 percent. Going with this trend, though black students made up close to 16 percent of all students in this school year, they make up 31 percent of students arrested or referred to police. This disparity has grown by five percent since 2013-14.
Similarly, students with disabilities represented just 12 percent of overall student enrollment in 2015-16, yet they were involved in 28 percent of the police-involved incidents at schools.
The attorneys at Kennedy Hunt P.C. have a combined decades’ worth of experience in helping students and families facing disciplinary action at their schools, including minority students and students with disabilities.
If you or your child is facing disciplinary action against your school, Kennedy Hunt P.C. is ready to help you.
Learn more about our school discipline law practice, and fill out a case questionnaire so we can better understand your claim and how to best aid you.