The board’s report includes statistics that while American Indian students make up only 4 percent of the student body, they account for 20 percent of the suspensions across the district. And while black students only make up 7 percent of the student body, they account for 16.3 percent of out-of-school suspensions.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is investigating an Arizona school district’s newly adopted racial policy that purportedly calls for a “two-tiered form of student discipline: one for black and Hispanic students; one for everyone else,” according to a newspaper columnist.
As WND reported, Arizona Republic columnist Doug MacEachern drew attention to a decision made by the Tucson Unified School District’s board over the summer to adopt a “Post-Unitary Status Plan,” which includes the goal of reducing suspensions and expulsions of minority students to reflect “no ethnic/racial disparities.”
“TUSD principals and disciplinarians (assuming such creatures stillexist) are being asked to set two standards of behavior for theirstudents,” MacEachern commented. “Some behavior will be met with strictpenalties; some will not. It all depends on the color of the student’s skin.”
MacEachern’s column quoted a section of the board’s 52-page plantitled “Restorative School Culture and Climate,” subhead, “Discipline.”
“School data that show disparities in suspension/expulsionrates will be examined in detail for root causes,” the new policystates. “Special attention will be dedicated to data regardingAfrican-American and Hispanic students.”