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previous federal DOE and DOJ policy The previous policy and guidelines sug- ‘is a complex issue that is affected by
guidance acknowledged that ‘racial dis- gested a monitoring and self-evaluation local circumstances. For example, there
crimination in school discipline is a real protocol that allowed schools to deter- may be other reasons for disparities in
problem’ (Dear Colleague Letter, 2014). mine if discipline was fairly and equitably behavior [emphasis added] if students
The prior guidelines, developed under applied to all students. What the current come from distressed communities and
the Obama administration, served to administration rejects as ‘mere statisti- face significant trauma’ (68).
redress and ameliorate disparities and cal disparity,’ in fact, reveals the lived The previous Department of Educa-
inequities. experiences and systemic dispropor- tion policy recommendations and
The now rescinded nondiscrimination tionality and inequities experienced for guidelines were designed to redress
guidelines emphasized: students of color. and ameliorate disparities and inequi-
1. developing student social and The Data Is Striking: 3.8 times ties. Disproportional discipline cannot
emotional competencies (e.g. be dismissed as a ‘mere statistical
self-management, resilience, In March of 2018, the US Government disparity’ and decades of research has
self-awareness, and responsible Accountability Office prepared a report demonstrated that disparities in school
decision making); for congress about student discipline discipline cannot be explained by ‘dis-
2. training and professional devel- practices in U.S. schools. The report parities in behavior.’
noted that black students accounted
opment for all school personnel for 15.5 percent of all public school We Must Work Together to
on the school’s written discipline students, but represented 39 percent of Bend the Arc
policy and how to administer dis- students suspended from school. The
cipline fairly and equitably; Civil Rights Data Collection for 2013- While the moral arc of the universe may
3. the importance of positive and 2014, the most recent available data, bend toward justice, it is the result of
constructive interventions over revealed that out-of-school suspension deliberate and concerted action from
sanctions that remove students rates differed by race and gender: 6% of committed individuals. School leaders
from academic instruction (e.g. all K-12 students received one or more cannot be passive and complicit with the
in-school and out-of-school out-of-school suspensions, 18% for revised Department of Education guide-
suspensions and expulsion); and black boys, 10% for black girls, 5% for lines. We must, instead, take action and
4. monitoring school discipline data white boys, and 2% for white girls. Black work collaboratively to ensure a more
to ensure consistency and equity. students are, 3.8 times more likely to be equitable and inclusive experience for
suspended than their white peers. all students. We must ‘bend the arc.’
What Drove the Guidelines to Critical to engaging in equitable prac-
Be Rescinded? The report noted that tices is an intentional focus on the triadic
After the horrific February 14, 2018 black students account- relationship of adaptive (belief work),
school shooting at Marjory Stoneman ed for 15.5 percent of technical (system change), and disparity
Douglas High School, the Trump admin- all public school stu- issues (data). Focusing on one aspect of
istration empowered a Federal Com- the change process without focus on the
mission on School Safety to ‘research dents, but represented other two areas will not result the yields
and recommend solutions to advance 39 percent of students that impact growth for all students. Our
the safety of our schools.’ The report suspended from school. charge is to build structures, programs,
recommended that the Department of and systems that empower all students
Education rescind the nondiscrimination and provide access to opportunities and
policy and guidelines. The administra- After reviewing Department of Educa- resources.
tion justified this recommendation, tion and the Office of Civil Rights data, To this end, there are organizations and
When there is evidence beyond a the federal Government Accountability countywide efforts that exist within NJ
mere statistical disparity [emphasis Office concluded that ‘black students, that are working together to challenge
added] that educational programs boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionality. The NJ Network of
and policies may violate the federal disproportionately disciplined in K-12 Superintendents, the NJ Association
prohibition on racial discrimination, public schools. This pattern of dispropor- of School Administrators, and a cohort
this administration will act swiftly and tionate discipline persisted regardless of eight school districts in Mercer and
decisively to investigate and remedy of the type of disciplinary action, level of Somerset Counties are all exemplars of
any discrimination. At the same time, school poverty, or type of public school organizations working together to inves-
the federal government must also these students attended’ (Government tigate and explore equitable practices.
ensure that educational programs and Accountability Office, 12). Individuals must band together and de-
policies are administered in a racially While the Government Accountability liberately take action to affect changes
neutral fashion [emphasis added]. Office concluded that this represented to policy, discipline practices, and sys-
Where well-meaning but flawed poli- disproportionate discipline, Betsy Devos’ tems that disenfranchise or marginalize
cies endanger student safety, they School Safety Commission offered a students. We urge New Jersey educa-
must be changed (Final Report of the radically different and troubling interpre- tors to take a stand against the elimina-
School Safety Commission, 67). tation. ‘School discipline,’ they argue, tion of the federal nondiscrimination

Educational Viewpoints -52- Spring 2019