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Monday, April 16, 2007
Race And Discipline: What Gives?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett County officials are considering changing their discipline policies because too many minority students are getting suspended or expelled.
According to last week’s story by AJC education reporter Laura Diamond, although black and Hispanic students made up about 44 percent of the school system’s enrollment last year, they represented 68 percent of the kids who appeared before disciplinary panels.
Disproportionately disciplining minorities has been an issue for schools for a long time. But this is the first time I’ve seen educators openly discussing it, or willing to do something to change the pattern.
Obviously, a lot of kids deserve to be disciplined for offenses they’ve committed. But I’ve often wondered whether minority students really are treated differently. Consider: The majority (51 percent) of Georgia’s K-12 public school students are minorities, while the majority of its teachers (nearly 78 percent) are white.
So is there or is there not a racial divide that makes teachers less willing to cut minority students some slack?
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