Group says driven by discriminatory, ineffective school policies and practices, not bad kids
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Advancement Project is proud to be represented among the 26 nationally recognized experts from the social science, education and legal fields who have compiled and analyzed a compelling body of recent research challenging the use of overly harsh and discriminatory school disciplinary policies that remove students from the classroom. The report follows the issuance in January of new federal guidance on school discipline policies and practices, outlining the civil rights obligations that all school systems face in administering discipline.
The group, known as the Discipline Disparities Research-to-Practice Collaborative, was launched in 2011 through The Equity Project at Indiana University with funding from the Atlantic Philanthropies and the Open Society Foundations. The Collaborative has met frequently since then to compile and review recent school discipline research.
The Collaborative found clear evidence that students of color, particularly African-Americans, and students with disabilities are suspended at hugely disproportionate rates compared to White students, perpetuating racial and educational inequality across the country. LGBT students also are over-represented in suspension.
“All children deserve access to a quality education, but too often, children of color are pushed out of the classroom, not because they’re behaving any worse than other students, but because of harsh and often discriminatory school disciplinary policies,” said Advancement Project Co-Director Judith Browne Dianis who is a member of the Collaborative. “While the notion of a post-racial society is aspirational in theory, racial discrimination in school discipline is a major problem.”
Citing data from the U.S. Department of Education, the Collaborative said more than 3 million students in grades K-12 were suspended during the 2009-10 academic year, reflecting a steady rise since the 1970’s when the suspension rate was half that level. “Research shows the best way to create a positive school climate is to foster trusting, supportive relationships between students and adults in the school,” Browne Dianis said. “And when misbehavior does occur, it should be addressed through constructive and equitable “restorative justice” policies that give students an opportunity to learn from, and make amends for, mistakes. We should focus on problem-solving instead of just handing out penalties.”
In releasing its findings, the Collaborative published three briefing papers, each addressed to a different audience: policy recommendations for district, state and federal officials; effective discipline alternatives for school personnel, and a description for researchers of recent studies and urgent, unanswered questions that should be addressed. Among the findings:
There is no research support for the theory that schools must be able to remove the “bad” students so the “good” students can learn. “In fact, when schools serving similar populations were compared, those schools with relatively low suspension rates had higher, not lower, test scores.”
Given the extreme differences in suspension rates across different groups, the researchers concluded that unintended teacher bias is a possibility. “Several studies indicate…that racial disparities are not sufficiently explained by the theory that Black or other minority students are simply misbehaving more.”
(Article taken from Advancement Project news release.)