Newly released guidelines from the departments of Education and Justice in the United States have called on school leaders to create and enforce rules that are fair to all racial and ethnic groups, while also reducing the use of zero-tolerance policies. The guidance acknowledges that these policies have resulted in unnecessarily high rates of suspensions and expulsions, particularly affecting certain racial groups. This is the first time a presidential administration has addressed the issue of disproportionate disciplinary rates and overly broad policies that remove students from classrooms for nonviolent incidents, such as dress code violations.
The guidance specifically instructs school leaders to adhere to Title IV and Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibit discriminatory treatment in schools and among recipients of federal aid. It emphasizes the need for schools to assess if their student discipline policies are fair and consistent, and if they negatively impact specific student groups. The guidance also rejects the assumption that higher rates of misbehavior among certain students can explain the disparities in suspension and expulsion rates. Eric Holder, the U.S. Attorney General, and Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education, unveiled the new guidance at Frederick Douglass High School and emphasized the importance of addressing adult behavior in order to bring about change.
According to national data from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights in 2012, black students accounted for 15% of the student population, but represented 35% of students suspended once, 44% of those suspended multiple times, and 36% of students who were expelled. There were also significant differences in suspension and expulsion rates between states. Arne Duncan stated that the disparity in these rates is not due to differences in children but rather variations in training, professional development, and discipline policies. He firmly asserted that it is the behavior of adults that needs to change.
The guidance, which includes a letter addressed to educators and a compilation of state-level discipline policies, is a result of the collaborative efforts of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative launched by the Education and Justice Departments in 2011. Civil rights organizations and advocates for reforming school discipline practices praised the guidance. They maintain that all children deserve access to a quality education and that discriminatory discipline policies disproportionately affect children of color. Critics of the guidance argue that it is unfair to assume that differing discipline rates are a result of discriminatory policies. They also worry that the new guidance may cause educators to overlook bad behavior that they would have previously addressed. Additionally, some national educator groups expressed concerns about the financial resources required to implement the changes suggested by the guidance.
The guidance is not a set of new federal regulations, but rather a tool to assist districts in fulfilling their existing obligations under federal civil rights laws. Both Duncan and Holder assured educators that allegations of violations related to Title IV and Title VI will continue to be investigated, whether initiated by complaints from parents, students, and community members, or through regular compliance-monitoring activities.
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