Author Topic: Holder's New School Discipline Guidelines: Stop Targeting Minorities  (Read 940 times)

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Offline mystery-ak

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http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/01/08/Govt-offers-new-approach-to-classroom-discipline

 from AP 8 Jan 2014, 11:32 AM PDT
(AP) Gov't offers new approach to classroom discipline
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON

The Obama administration is issuing new recommendations on classroom discipline that seek to end the apparent disparities in how students of different races are punished for violating school rules.

Civil rights advocates have long said that a "school-to-prison" pipeline stems from overly zealous school discipline policies targeting black and Hispanic students that bring them out of school and into the court system.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the problem often stems from well intentioned "zero-tolerance" policies that too often inject the criminal justice system into the resolution of problems. Zero tolerance policies, a tool that became popular in the 1990s, often spell out uniform and swift punishment for offenses such as truancy, smoking or carrying a weapon. Violators can lose classroom time or become saddled with a criminal record.

"Ordinary troublemaking can sometimes provoke responses that are overly severe, including out of school suspensions, expulsions and even referral to law enforcement and then you end up with kids that end up in police precincts instead of the principal's office," Holder said.

In American schools, black students without disabilities were more than three times as likely as whites to be expelled or suspended, according to government civil rights data collection from 2011-2012. Although black students made up 15 percent of students in the data collection, they made up more than a third of students suspended once, 44 percent of those suspended more than once and more than a third of students expelled.

More than half of students involved in school-related arrests or referred to law enforcement were Hispanic or black, according to the data.

The recommendations being issued Wednesday encourage schools to ensure that all school personnel are trained in classroom management, conflict resolution and approaches to de-escalate classroom disruptions.

Among the other recommendations:

_Ensure that school personnel understand that they are responsible for administering routine student discipline instead of security or police officers.

_Draw clear distinctions about the responsibilities of school security personnel.

_Provide opportunities for school security officers to develop relationships with students and parents.

The government advises schools to establish procedures on how to distinguish between disciplinary infractions appropriately handled by school officials compared with major threats to school safety. And, it encourages schools to collect and monitor data that security or police officers take to ensure nondiscrimination.

The recommendations are nonbinding, but, in essence, the federal government is telling the school districts around the country that they should adhere to the principles of fairness and equity in student discipline or face strong action if they don't.

Already, in March of last year, the Justice Department spearheaded a settlement with the Meridian, Miss., school district to end discriminatory disciplinary practices. The black students in the district were facing harsher punishment than whites for similar misbehavior.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan acknowledged the challenge is finding the balancing act to keep school safe and orderly, but when it comes to routine discipline the "first instinct should not be to call 911 when there's a problem."

Research suggests the racial disparities in how students are disciplined are not explained by more frequent or more serious misbehavior by students of color, according to a letter sent to schools with the recommendations by the departments.

"For example, in our investigations, we have found cases where African-American students were disciplined more harshly and more frequently because of their race than similarly situated white students," the letter said. "In short, racial discrimination in school discipline is a real problem."

Holder and Duncan were interviewed on Tuesday on the Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show as part of a national effort to draw attention to the issue.
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rangerrebew

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Re: Holder's New School Discipline Guidelines: Stop Targeting Minorities
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2014, 03:05:17 pm »
I wonder why all these areas where black students receive so much discipline are roughly the same areas where there are high concentrations of blacks and murders - like Detroit? :whistle:

Offline mountaineer

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Re: Holder's New School Discipline Guidelines: Stop Targeting Minorities
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2014, 03:10:30 pm »
Quote
"Ordinary troublemaking can sometimes provoke responses that are overly severe ..."

I shudder to think how Holder defines ordinary troublemaking - and wouldn't want to be the victim of it at the hands of some 16-year-old punk (of any skin tone).
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rangerrebew

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Re: Holder's New School Discipline Guidelines: Stop Targeting Minorities
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2014, 03:36:30 pm »
I shudder to think how Holder defines ordinary troublemaking - and wouldn't want to be the victim of it at the hands of some 16-year-old punk (of any skin tone).

Are "troublemakes" the same as "causers of mischief?"  They are both terrorists.

Offline happyg

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Re: Holder's New School Discipline Guidelines: Stop Targeting Minorities
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2014, 03:40:11 pm »
This is utter bs!  Schools already show favoritism towards blacks when it comes to discipline. I know one school that hides a lot of violence by blacks. One former teacher told me that blacks get into fights all the time, and get a slap on the wrist.  I know about one girl who was being harassed by a black girl, and nothing was done. This is more about giving black children control of the schools, which is exactly what is going on in many areas.

Offline flowers

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Re: Holder's New School Discipline Guidelines: Stop Targeting Minorities
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2014, 03:42:52 pm »
Jindal: DOJ 'More Interested In Skin Color' Than Education

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/jindal-doj-more-interested-skin-color-education_773996.html

Quote
n November, the Obama Justice Department dropped a lawsuit aimed at stopping a school voucher program in Louisiana. The Louisiana Scholarship Program is intended to give students in failing public schools a chance to attend better schools, including private ones. Justice tried to block the program on the basis that it may have violated a 1975 federal desegregation order. The case began to heat up when Republican governor Bobby Jindal, joined by some parents of students (chiefly minorities) who had benefited from the voucher program, began a defense in the courts. Justice then filed a motion contesting the parents' standing in the case.
BobbyJindalKennerMcCain2008

However, when U.S. district court judge Ivan Lemelle handed down his ruling in November, he revealed that the Justice Department had "abandoned" its efforts to end the voucher program. "We are pleased that the Obama Administration has given up its attempt to end the Louisiana Scholarship Program with this absurd lawsuit," Jindal said at the time. 

But Justice did not completely fold, requesting that the court allow a federal review process of the voucher program. In a November 22 hearing, the judge ordered the two sides to file proposals to modify the process for information sharing with respect to the Louisiana Scholarship Program.


Offline sinkspur

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Re: Holder's New School Discipline Guidelines: Stop Targeting Minorities
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2014, 03:54:56 pm »
I had to check to make sure this wasn't from The Onion. 

So now the Justice Department is getting involved in school discipline?  Is this the friggin' Soviet Union?
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Oceander

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Re: Holder's New School Discipline Guidelines: Stop Targeting Minorities
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2014, 04:17:05 pm »
Sometimes even a stopped clock gets the time correct.  Zero-tolerance policies are idiotic and add nothing to the discipline regimen other than to screw the lives of otherwise rambunctious kids.

You disagree?  Remember the post a few weeks ago about the small boy who was kicked out of school for using his fingers as a pretend gun and "shooting" his friends?  Remember the boys who got kicked out of school for playing cowboys and indians?  Well, that was the result of zero-tolerance policies and should be the clearest of illustrations for why zero-tolerance policies are generally a bad idea.  Common sense ought to be the policy, not zero tolerance.