From Samuel Sinyangwe
the US Dept of Education just released data on racial disparities in every school and school district in America (from preK-12). Here’s how you use the data to show if/how your school discriminates against black students and other marginalized groups.
First, lookup the most recent year of data available for your school and/or school district. Right now that’s data on the 2015-16 school year.
Click your school and it will pull up basic info on students/teachers. On the right is the most important info: data on school discipline, policing in schools and whether all students have access to gifted/advanced courses.
Click on the Discipline Report on the right side and you’ll see which groups of students your school is most likely to suspend, expel, and refer to law enforcement. You can also see who’s more likely to be arrested at school using the “school related arrests” tab.
When you present data showing black students are more likely to be disciplined, you will inevitable find people who try to say that it’s because black students misbehave more. That’s a racist lie. Be prepared to shut them down with the facts: https://www.vox.com/2015/10/31/9646504/discipline-race-charts …
Make sure you are intersectional in your analysis: black girls tend to be disciplined at particularly high rates compared to white girls and students with disabilities (defined as IDEA on the site) - especially students of color tend to be disciplined at the highest rates.
For example, you could say: “The data shows black students are 10% of students at our school but 28% of those suspended. Research shows that disparities like this tend to be due to discriminatory school discipline policies, not student behavior. What’s your plan to address this?”
(Adding other statistics as appropriate and relevant to your school/the changes you want to see)
This database is a starting point. Ask for/collect more info too. Which infractions are students suspended for the most? Which teachers suspend students more? Who’s referring students to police and why? What’s your school’s policy on these things and how should it be changed?
Read about how other schools have taken action to address the issues you’ve identified. The Advancement Project / Dignity in Schools are good resources. Reach out to activists and organizations #onhere if you have questions. Share your insights with others, organize, take action.
