Last
week the Obama Administration issued recommendations on school discipline. The purpose of the recommendations was to end
the racial disparities in punishment for violations of school policy[i].
Pointing
to “zero tolerance” policies as the primary reason for the racial disparity in
punishment, Attorney General, Eric Holder argues that too often zero tolerance
policies infused the criminal justice system as part of the punishment. Attorney General went on to further argue
that:
“Ordinary
troublemaking can sometimes provoke responses
that
are overly severe, including out of school suspensions,
expulsions
and even referral to law enforcement…then you
end
up with kids that end up in police precincts instead of the
principal’s
office[ii].”
The
statements made by Attorney General Holder reflect the data collected by the
Office of Civil Rights which found that African-American students were more
than three times as likely as whites to be expelled or suspended. Additionally, more than half of students
involved in school related arrests or referred to law enforcement were
African-American or Latino.
To
change the approach schools handle discipline, Obama Administration
recommended: 1) ensure school personnel
understand they are responsible for administering routine students discipline
instead of security or police officers; 2) Draw clear distinctions about the
responsibility of school security personnel; 3) Provide opportunities for
school security officers to develop relationships with students and parents; 4)
Establish procedures on how to distinguish between disciplinary infractions
appropriately handled by school officials compared with major threats to school
safety [iii].
The
recommendations by the Obama Administration clearly placed schools on notice
that the racial disparity in student discipline has become so bad the
Administration felt compelled call for change.
The recommendations also informed schools not to criminalize behaviors
that should be handled at the school level.
Finally, the recommendations call for schools to adhere to the
principles of fairness and equity in student discipline or they will face
strong action if they don’t[iv].
The recommendations by the Obama
Administration have asked schools to get back into the business of equal and
fair student discipline by retaking control of the process and to help students
get back on track without involving law enforcement. By doing this, there should be an end to
racial disparity and criminalization in the student discipline process. If not, schools will have to face strong
sanctions from the Federal government.
Thank you President Obama for
taking on this important and overlooked problem. The futures of too many students of color
have been side-tracked or lost because of the criminalization of the school
discipline process. By putting the onus
back on schools to discipline with equity and fairness, less students will
leave school without a criminal record and hopefully go on to become productive
citizens.
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