Civil rights group targets disproportionate school discipline

SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDA COURIER

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has filed a series of civil rights complaints against Florida school districts that subject Black students to harsh disciplinary policies at rates that are far higher than for White students.

The complaints, filed with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, describe how Black students in the school districts in Escambia, Bay, Okaloosa, Flagler and Suwannee counties are suspended, expelled and arrested at school for relatively minor and non-violent conduct.

Time for reform
“Unforgiving disciplinary policies are cutting short the futures of countless Black students across Florida and the entire nation,” said Stephanie Langer, a staff attorney for the SPLC’s Florida office.

“If school districts truly want to provide a quality education to all of their students, they will reform these discriminatory policies.”

SPLC says the school districts’ own annual reports to the Florida Department of Education demonstrate the discriminatory impact of their disciplinary policies:

• In Escambia County (Pensacola) schools, Black students account for 65 percent of all out-of-school suspensions, but they represent only 36 percent of the student population.

• In Okaloosa County (east of Pensacola) schools, Black students account for 24 percent of all out-of-school suspensions even though they make up only 12 percent of the student population.

• In Bay County (east of Pensacola) schools, Black students account for 30 percent of all out-of-school suspensions even though they comprise only 15 percent of the student population.

• In Suwannee County (northwest of Gainesville) schools, Black students account for 31 percent of all out-of-school suspensions, but represent only 14 percent of the student population.

• In Flagler County schools (north of Daytona Beach), Black students account for 31 percent of all out-of-school suspensions even though they are only 16 percent of the student population.

The complaints explain how the school districts have imposed long-term suspensions on children as young as 8 years old for minor rule infractions such as tardiness, inappropriate cell phone usage, talking in class and dress code violations.

The complaints also describe how the school districts fail to provide school principals with specific disciplinary guidelines and procedures. This allows principals the power to remove students from school for vague and often minor rule infractions.

Harsh punishment
Several cases described in the complaint illustrate how Black children are punished more harshly and more frequently than White students:

• A Black student in Escambia County was suspended and arrested for “trespassing” after purchasing a hot meal at a neighboring high school. Before this incident, the student had no history of disciplinary issues.

• An 11-year-old Black elementary student in Okaloosa County received a five-day suspension for having a cell phone in class. The school district classified it as “inappropriate behavior.”

• A 12-year-old Black student in Bay County received 23 days of out-of-school suspension during the 2011-12 school year for minor infractions such as chewing gum, “mouthing off,” and talking in class.

• A 10-year-old Black elementary student in Suwannee County was suspended more than 20 times during the 2010-11 school year for nonviolent behavior. He was provided no homework, nor the ability to make up the work he missed while suspended.

• A Black school student in Flagler County was written up 19 times during the 2011-12 school year. Each instance was for minor nonviolent misconduct.

Practices unchanged
Florida, like many states across the county, has amended its zero-tolerance discipline law to encourage schools to handle minor behavioral problems with in-school discipline rather than harsh policies that decrease a student’s time in the regular classroom.

While each district has changed its written policies, practices have not changed. Many school districts continue to suspend students for lengthy periods, send them to alternative schools, expel them or unnecessarily refer them to the juvenile justice system.

“Local school districts and state officials must make reforms that improve the effectiveness of school disciplinary policies without forcing children out of the classroom,” said Tania Galloni, managing attorney of the SPLC’s Florida office.

“School discipline should never deprive a child of an education, but that is happening in these school districts. What was once considered minor misconduct has become an opportunity to punish or even criminalize a student’s behavior.”