PROVIDENCE -- A task force convened
last fall to review the impact of race on school suspensions issued a report
yesterday that says black youths are disproportionately suspended in as many as
one-third of Rhode Island's schools.
The report notes that the
disparities mirror nationwide patterns, but it stops short of accusing school
officials of racism.
"While we cannot ignore that racial bias exists,
the evidence clearly demonstrates that poverty is the single most pressing
factor affecting the high number of suspensions in this state and across the
nation," it says.
"If we could ensure that every family had economic and
housing stability, that every child had quality early care and education
experience, and that all adults had the knowledge and skills to promote, nurture
and model positive behavior, Rhode Island would see a decrease in school
suspensions."
To begin changing the schools, the team offered 51
suggestions -- all targeting schools' policies and practices, not alleged racism
in individuals.
Journal
photo Mary Murphy SUSPENSION BIAS: Anthony Maione,
left, executive director of the state chapter of the National Conference
for Community and Justice, and chairman of a task force that examined
racial bias in school discipline, and Peter McWalters, commissioner of
education, talk about the panel's findings yesterday.
"The issues are systemic in nature," said Anthony Maione, head of the
local chapter of the National Conference for Community & Justice, who led
the task force. "This is not about finding a few bad people in the system; it's
about changing the system."
Education Commissioner Peter McWalters
welcomed the report as a catalyst to change a system that he said hurts students
and pushes them out of school, undermining his "all-kids" agenda.
McWalters said his staff would form partnerships with schools to start
implementing the recommendations, but to make a bigger impact, he would ask the
Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education to consider giving the
state a larger role in defining discipline policies, which are now controlled
almost absolutely by local school committees.
McWalters didn't talk
about who would pay for the changes. But Maione noted that "without resources"
-- and Governor Almond's budget offers little -- "I don't see the possibility
for very much progress."
The task force was formed last fall at the
request of the General Assembly, which had raised concerns about a Journal
report showing that 1 in 7 black students were suspended out of school in
1999-2000, compared with 1 in 14 white students.
The Journal also showed
how common suspension was, affecting nearly 16,000 students that year, and
costing them nearly 500 years' worth of schooling. Moreover, it noted that
suspensions were imposed mostly for nonviolent offenses -- a third were for
truancy, bunking, and tardiness.
State Rep. Aisha Abdullah-Odiase,
D-Providence, persuaded the General Assembly to pass a resolution asking
McWalters to study the issue and devise a plan to "eliminate racial bias in all
public schools."
McWalters convened a 50-member team that included
members of his staff, education experts, principals, teachers, parents, union
leaders, several students from the Met School, and community advocates.
The group commissioned its own review of two years' worth of data, and
it studied state laws and local policies and spoke with principals, teachers,
and others.
But the task force didn't have enough time, Maione said.
Thus yesterday's report was labeled "interim," and Maione asked McWalters to
give the team until June to finish.
Already, however, there are
recommendations, covering eight major issues that the task force identified as
crucial to solving the suspension problem:
• Improve the quality and
scope of the state's suspension data, and analyze it more thoroughly. Maione
noted that there were big gaps in the data, including a flaw that resulted in
the bulk of suspensions having the offense listed as "other." There were also
questions about consistency in how offenses -- and penalties -- were defined,
and there were clear differences in how schools handled specific offenses.
• The task force was particularly alarmed by how many elementary school
students are suspended, and recommended that the Department of Education
encourage districts to impose a moratorium on elementary-level suspensions, in
exchange for special help from the state.
• Analyze racial disparity in
school suspension more deeply, with focus-group discussions with parents,
teachers, administrators, students, police, clergy, and others, as well as
comparisons between policy and practice in schools that disproportionately
suspend blacks.
• Raise awareness of disciplinary policies, review them
frequently, and make sure they don't result in discrimination. The group also
recommended compiling a list of model policies and practices.
• Offer
professional development to teachers, school administrators and staff to help
them handle behavior problems and support students emotionally.
•
Develop a progressive disciplinary process that addresses students' problems,
through counseling, social services, and alternative penalties that eliminate
the need for out-of-school suspension.
• Improve school climate, so all
youngsters attend "safe, healthy, nurturing schools" where they can thrive, and
they can develop relationships with supportive adults.
• Get parents
more involved in the schools, at every level, so they can help students arrive
well-prepared for school, and deal with youngsters' developmental needs and
behavior problems.
Digital Extra:
Look back at The Journal
series Suspended, which explores the use of suspensions in Rhode Island and
includes a searchable database of suspensions by school, at:
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