Democrats in Congress are pushing back against a Trump administration directive on racial disparities in student discipline. And, a Virginia congressman is leading the charge.
Congressman Bobby Scott is using his position as chairman of the Education and Labor Committee to fight back against the Trump administration, which is eliminating Obama-era guidance to limit racial disparities in school discipline.
“And, the guidance showed how you could reduce those disparities without jeopardizing school safety. As the White House and courts continue to push us in the wrong direction," says Scott. "Congress cannot sit on the sidelines. The stakes are too high.”
Daniel Losen at the California-based Center for Civil Rights Remedies points out that Richmond has some of the highest racial disparities in the country. Black students in Richmond lose 446 more days than white students, according to a report his center recently released.
“And, where we have the kind of vague and minor offenses that are very subjectively determined, we tend to see things like implicit racial bias play a much larger role in whose behavior is identified as being problems in the first place,” says Losen.
He says the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate the guidance on racial disparities was based on an unsubstantiated fear of quotas and a discredited study. Scott says schools need some way to address clear evidence that black students receive harsher treatment than their classmates.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
