Do African American students in Seattle Public Schools get disciplined more frequently and harshly than white students? That’s the accusation under federal investigation.
According to KUOW, Seattle Public Schools has acknowledged the imbalance which is now getting federal attention by the U.S. Department of Education.
The school district’s annual data profile depicts dramatic differences in the number of suspensions and expulsions white students receive compared to black and Native American students. Over the past decade, the percentage of elementary school students who get at least one short-term suspension a year has held steady for white students, but nearly tripled for black students.
“Across all grade levels, Black/African American short-term suspension rates are highest, while Asian/Pacific Islander and White suspension rates are lowest,” according to the report.
The report also finds that from elementary to high school, African-American students are suspended three times more than white students.
The Seattle Times talked with Superintendent José Banda, who acknowledged the problem.
“I think we have a serious problem here,” Banda said. “We do. We acknowledge that. We acknowledge the fact that the data is clear that there is a disproportionate number of students of color being suspended and expelled.
“It’s something that we’re moving on, in addition to working with the Department of Education, who are conducting their own review,” he said.
The report does not identify the schools where the disciplines occurred.
There are four Seattle Public Schools in the Capitol Hill area including Lowell Elementary, Stevens Elementary, NOVA High School and Garfield High School. Here’s a breakdown of their diversity, according to their Washington State Report Cards:
Lowell Elementary School
American Indian: 0.3%
Asian: 13.8%
Black: 9.7%
Hispanic: 5.5%
White: 62.0%
Stevens Elementary School
American Indian: 1.3%
Asian: 9.7%
Black: 17.8%
Hispanic: 17.3%
White: 46.1%
NOVA High School
American Indian: 1.8%
Asian: 5.3%
Black: 7.3%
Hispanic: 7.6%
White: 73.3%
Garfield High School
American Indian: 0.8%
Asian: 21.9%
Black: 30.2%
Hispanic: 7.7%
White: 37.6%
While Garfield High School is the geographic high school assignment for students who live on Capitol Hill, it is not located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. It is in the Central District.
Another public school located in Capitol Hill is Seattle World School. It is a school for English language learners in grades 6-12 and shares the Meany Middle School building with Nova.
Since they split the APP program and sent those kids to Wallingford, the population at Lowell has dramatically shifted. Check out their data on their website, http://lowelles.seattleschools.org/ and “About our School”.
Prove the discipline wasn’t necessary first then call it problem. There’s a growing bullying issue at Stevens right now directly being caused by a select group of “minority” students. And the fact the principal is inept and doesn’t have the skills to squash this problem has me livid. More discipline is needed, not less.
I made a similar comment and they censored me. Obviously if minorities are getting into trouble it’s because they’re being discriminated against! Even in Seattle, of all places!
To think anything else is unacceptable.
Why are they assuming race has anything to do with it? Discipline is handed out on a case by case basis. Suspension and expulsion is for the worst offenses. If more black students are committing these offensive then obviously more of them will face harsher punishments.
What they should do is look at it from a resource prospective. Students with high resource level vs those with low resource levels and leave race out of it.
Aww, the Times closed the comments prematurely, just as it was getting really racist. Sissies.
The obvious question is this: Are minority students being disciplined more often because they are guilty of unacceptable behavior more often, or is it because they are being discriminated against? I think the former is more likely, but the investigation by the school district and now by the feds should answer the question, if it is done objectively and without any political correctness.
This should develop in an interesting fashion. I agree that the punishments should be investigrated to find a correlation between the infractions as well, but find it horribly naive to think that “Obviously if minorities are getting into trouble it’s because they’re being discriminated against!” That’s not a logical assumption.
And before people jump to the inevitable “rap and gang culture promote violence in black youth!” argument, we should read about how white minor panhandlers beat a man unconscious a few nights ago. Kids of all races can be total a-holes.