The following statement can be attributed to Ian Rosenblum, Executive Director of The Education Trust–New York:
“The federal government has a responsibility to protect all students’ civil rights. Unfortunately, under President Trump and Secretary DeVos’s leadership we can no longer count on the U.S. Department of Education to fulfill this fundamental obligation. Today’s recommendation to rescind the federal discipline guidelines is a further injustice to students of color, putting them at greater risk of being targeted for unfair punishment and excluded from the classroom. We hope and trust that New York’s leaders will quickly step up and enact and enforce these civil rights protections at the state level.”
Background on the disproportionate use of out-of-school suspensions from STOLEN TIME: New York State’s Suspension Crisis
- Schools outside of New York City were 4.2x more likely to suspend Black students than White students.
- New York City was 5.5x more likely to suspend Black students than White students.
- Schools imposed the most disproportionate discipline on Black female students. For example, outside of New York City, elementary/middle schools suspended 5.9% of Black female students – compared to 0.8% of White female students.
- Schools suspended Black male high school students at a greater rate than any other group of students. For example, outside of New York City, schools suspended nearly 1 in 5 Black male high school students (19.1%).
- Suspensions are an educational justice issue in all types of school districts. For example, in low-need school districts, Black students represented 4% of all students and 15% of all students who were suspended at least once.
Source: New York State Education Department. Unpublished 2016-17 data. Analysis conducted by The Education Trust—New York. Learn more at https://equityinedny.edtrust.org/stolen-time/.