Black students more likely to be kicked out of classrooms for incidents not warranting removal

By: Dallas News

Black students in Texas are much more likely to be kicked out of their regular classrooms than children of other races when the decision is left up to school administrators, according to state data from the last three years.

Texas Education Agency data shows that black student referrals to “disciplinary alternative education programs” were twice the rate of those for Hispanic students and three times the rate for white students for incidents not serious enough to warrant automatic removal.

In these lower level cases, administrators can decide if a student should leave the school. And for black students, one child out of 30 was removed in 2009-10, compared with one in 96 white students and one of 62 Hispanic students.

The trend is not new.

The disparity in black student placements has been documented in TEA annual reports going back at least a decade. But not much has been done to address the matter.

TEA officials say their hands are tied. Julie Harris-Lawrence, TEA’s deputy associate commissioner of student affairs and educator performance, said the disparity “is a concern” but the state did away with monitoring the disciplinary placements several years ago to save money.

“Somewhere around 2003, the agency was statutorily prohibited from monitoring school districts,” she said. “We can’t tell that local school board, or local entity, that they have to change their process.”

Harris-Lawrence, who has been with TEA for four years, said the agency has left information on disciplinary placements in its annual report to keep disparities at the forefront.

“It is a concern,” she said. “We want parents, we want community members, we want folks to be able to look at data and information and then influence their schools to make a change.”

Discipline disparities of black students have been documented for decades in school districts nationwide.

In Texas, school principals or designees have discretion over setting punishments for students who commit lower-level offenses, or those likely to be more subjective, such as fighting, threats and bullying. Higher-level offenses typically require automatic removal, and they can include drug possession, indecent exposure and certain felony conduct.

Parents can usually appeal the punishment, but some have found it to be a battle.

Kendra Williams is at the second level of a grievance process in appealing her 8-year-old daughter’s 20-day placement in Dallas ISD’s elementary disciplinary alternative education program. She said that her daughter hit a girl after school, who she said had hit her during the school day.

Williams worries about her daughter falling behind academically in the alternative school.

“The school is used to having a lot of kids who are behind,” she said. “She’s bored.”

State information shows that many districts in the Dallas area have higher percentages of placements for black students. National experts say the disparity is found in suburban and urban districts alike.

For example, in Dallas ISD, discretionary placements accounted for 22 for every 1,000 black students last school year, while 80 of every 1,000 black students in Mesquite ISD were removed. Placement percentages for white and Hispanic students also were higher in Mesquite. Students could be counted more than once for multiple placements.

Laura Jobe, an administrative officer in Mesquite ISD’s communications office, said removing children from schools overall in the district has decreased. She said a consultant has been brought in to address the issue of minority removals.

“We’re aware of that disparity between the ethnic groups,” Jobe said.

Russell Skiba, a leading national expert on disciplinary disparities, said the overrepresentation of black students in discipline programs has been documented at least since the 1970s.

Skiba is a professor in counseling and educational psychology at Indiana University and is director of the Equity Project, which provides data to educators and policy makers to address issues regarding educational equity.

“There isn’t data that support the idea that African-American students are acting out more in order to deserve higher levels,” he said. “We have to view it as a serious concern when students are removed from mainstream classes more frequently.”

Skiba said the removals could have a negative impact on student learning.

“Any time we remove a kid from a regular education setting, we’re sort of increasing the risk of reduced educational opportunity and them finishing,” he said.

In Texas, black students continue to lag behind other racial groups on state accountability exams. And the academic gap has grown in Dallas ISD in the last several years between black and Hispanic students.

Dallas ISD officials are addressing the issue through their African American Success Initiative, which focuses on mentoring, community outreach and academic development of black students. Cultural training is also given to teachers and principals, and behavioral management to students.

Recently, a group of black male students representing most of the district’s high schools joined religious leaders and district administrators to talk about obstacles the students face.

Students mentioned a lack of expectations from teachers, not enough community support and outside temptations as contributing to poor performance in school, according to a school district report about the meeting. Students also suggested more mentors at their campuses.

“The kids can tell us more than anybody about what’s happening to them,” said Shirley Ison-Newsome, an executive director in Dallas ISD.

As far as the overrepresentation of black students in alternative education, some experts believe a lack of cultural awareness could play a part.

Mack Hines III, an assistant professor in Sam Houston State University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling, recently conducted a study concerning the discipline of black students in Irving ISD.

The 91-page study released in August, called “The Skin They’re In,” was commissioned by Irving ISD and consisted of discussions with teachers and black students. It found that many of the black students perceived racial inequities in their treatment at school and felt they received less support from teachers, particularly white teachers.

In the study, more white teachers than black and Hispanic teachers were resistant to discussing the role of race as it relates to student development, particularly for black students.

Hines said educators need to realize there are cultural differences with children. For example, he said, blacks tend to express their feelings more, which to some in a school setting could be perceived as disrespect. Blacks also are more conscious about race, he said, which could affect how they view school.

“When you don’t see race at all, there’s a denial to how anyone is influenced by race,” Hines said.

Community activist Anthony Bond believes black parents can help bridge the cultural gap at school by getting involved.

“This isn’t the government’s responsibility to make sure my kid is treated fairly when he goes to school,” he said. “I’d like to put the onus right back on the black community.”

Skiba, the Equity Project director, said educators should be having discussions on race.

“If we can’t talk about race, we can’t solve racial disparity,” he said. “I think there’s a fear of being called racist.”