Posted on 10/07/2010 10:23:03 AM PDT by earlJam
Are minority students disciplined more harshly? Obama administration to issue suspension guidelines
Published: Thursday, October 07, 2010, 12:06 PM
Dave Murray | The Grand Rapids Press
Are minority students disciplined more harshly than white students?
The Obama administration thinks so, and is planning to make addressing racial disparities in school discipline a high priority, reports Education Week’s Mary Ann Zehr.
The administration intends to “release guidance” on school discipline this winter, presumably telling local schools how they should deal with problem students, Zehr reports.
The U.S. departments of Education and Justice held a conference late last month and Zehr quoted Thomas E. Perez, the assistant attorney general for civil rights.
“Regrettably, students of color are receiving different and harsher disciplinary punishments than whites for the same or similar infractions, and they are disproportionately impacted by zero-tolerance policies—a fact that only serves to exacerbate already deeply entrenched disparities in many communities,” he told attendees.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the gathering that he, too, is concerned.
Zehr reported that according prepared remarks, Mr. Duncan said he was “deeply troubled by rising discipline rates and disparities in discipline” in the nation’s schools, and that the administration has already launched five compliance reviews on school discipline.
Agency leaders said the different treatment might not be intentional.
Zehr quoted staff n the Education Department’s civil rights office as saying that staff looks for “different treatment” when enforcing civil rights law, where people are intentionally discriminated against.
But, Zehr noted, the feds also look for “disparate impact,” meaning that a particular group is disproportionately affected by a policy though no intention of discrimination may exist.
So, a school might not intentionally look to suspect minority students, but if a greater percentage of minority students are disciplined, there might be a problem.
But some argue that a crackdown on the districts could lead to administrators being afraid to hand down discipline if they fear they could be hauled into court or face cuts in federal aid.
A leader of a Washington-based civil rights group told Zehr that she backs the closer look at discipline — and said the Bush administration neglected the problem.
“Now is the time when we need to have strong enforcement of civil rights laws with regard to public education because we see the numbers are so outrageous with regard to outcomes for children of color,” Judith A. Browne-Dianis, the co-director of the Advancement Project, told Zehr.
I think you are correct.
Want to solve the problem? Return control of schools back to local school districts. Let parents elect the school board members, let the local taxpayers support the schools.
I can gurantee you that the local people (whatever color) would be able to handle the situation much better than a one rule fits all from the federal government.
You know what I get out of this?
My kids will be punished more harshly BECAUSE they are white.
There. The unspoken TRUTH.
I bet the guidelines will be similar to those in the Voting Rights section in the DOJ.
I reject the idea that only a school has the power to discipline the child for misbehavior.
My son recently did something at school that had gone below the radar of the teachers and administration. He told me what he had done, and I was very disappointed. I handed the discipline out to him and never once considered that he was “off the hook”.
When he apologized to the student that he had wronged the next day the kid asked him, “Why?”
He said, “Because my mother told me to!”
The message that he got was that his mother will hold him accountable, even if he thinks he got off scot free.
Parents hold the key to proper disciple, not educational standards set by the professor in the Oval Office.
Then there are the other children, born to stupid parents, who must spend the rest of their lives as government pawns.
They will never be treated like human beings.
I’m going to start a business where I watch homeschooled kids so their parents can work.
Anyone want to pull their kids out of the PS? I’ll charge a buck an hour, you buy your own curriculum and keep your own records.
In five years, I bet there will be a huge demand for this.
Simple solution: Here is the discipline guide, minor offense, warning....second offense...stringent warning....third offense...off to deans office for segration from class for a period of time. Student manages six such warnings in a semester...banish the bastard.
Major offense, such as drug use, guns, fighting. First offense....trip to deans office for segratation from class to be decided by dean based on offense. BTW, if it is a criminal offense, have the bum arrested. Second offense...banish the bastard.
Kick the crap out of school and let those who wish to be there remain. If they are found out on the street, underage after being banished, they should be considered vagrants and put in jail, on a chain gang somewhere or deported.
“release guidance” or else,Hitler nods.
I know - just wishful thinking
Sorry, Pan, I didn’t mean to insinuate that the schools should be disciplinarian. I was just commenting on the supposition being put forward by Obama and his regime.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I’m not a parent yet, but when I do have the little ones, they will have personal responsibility drilled into their heads, and your discipline scenario would go exactly the same way in my home as yours.
Why in the world is the Obama administration meddling in the schools?
It is not the Messiah’s business.
Since members of minority groups commit a disproportional amount of crime in the US, it stands to reason that they would be overrepresented in school disciplinary actions. Now the Feds want to damage the ability of schools to maintain order by pretending that isn't the case.
Sounds great! I’d like to get the present family members out of diapers before I try bringing in OPKs, so you let me know how it works out for you!
Federal gov’t has no constitutional license to meddle in the operations of elementary and secondary public schools. School districts are special purpose units of state governments, governed locally by locally elected school boards, the members of which increasing have become, since the advent of the federal Dept. of Education, litle more than local labor contract negotiators. IMHO.
Whether the problem is real or not, this should not be coming out of Washington DC.
One of the most important things we need to do if and when we ever get control of Washington again is to disband the US Department of Education. Control of education must be returned, definitively, to the states and local communities.
My kids will be punished more harshly BECAUSE they are white.
There. The unspoken TRUTH
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
About 10 or so years ago I used to make a trip to Philadelphia (or NYC) from Washington DC area 5 nights a week.
At the time the Md State Police were catching ‘sand’ because the claim was they were stopping a vast majority of ‘minority’ motorists.
Now for the 5 years I ran that ‘corridor’ (95 through MD/Del) I had NEVER gotten stopped.
Of course, I drove the basic speed limit (or at least kept up with the flow), didn’t tailgate or switch lanes every 1/4 mile, basically kept to the right etc.
I figured once they got chastised for not stopping enough whites (like they could really tell who was behind the wheel) and if I had ever gotten stopped, my defense was going to be
“I was targeted because I was white”.
Actually I was glad I never had to use that ‘defense’.
BTW, I was driving my own POV (a Ford 250 Van) so I wasn’t getting a break because I was driving a ‘company vehicle’.
Parents really should go to their childs school and watch what goes on. I recommend a group of parents get together and each spend one day a week watching and observing at their kids’ school. Take notes, take photos.
How about we just test their little IQ’s and then publish that data along side disciplinary needs?
Better yet, how about we make sure kids only attend schools with students within their same capabilities?
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