Politics
Education Department issues new civil rights guidance targeting racial discipline policies
Federal officials warned school leaders against considering race in discipline matters, while opening investigations into two school districts.
The short version
- The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued guidance warning school leaders that considering student race in discipline decisions constitutes unlawful discrimination.
- Federal officials announced investigations into Fayetteville Public Schools in Arkansas and Milwaukee Public Schools regarding their disciplinary policies.
- Civil rights advocates warned the decision undermines accountability for discriminatory patterns, while administration officials argued prior policies compromised classroom safety and led to improper racial balancing.
- Districts named in the federal probe report receiving little initial detail on the specific allegations underlying the investigations.
Key facts
- The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance stating that considering race in student discipline decisions risks federal investigation and constitutes illegal discrimination.[NPR]
- The department announced federal investigations into the student discipline practices of Fayetteville Public Schools in Arkansas and Milwaukee Public Schools.[NPR]
- OCR head Kimberly Richey argued that previous federal guidance caused classrooms to become less safe and more disruptive due to efforts to achieve racial balance in discipline.[NPR]
- Former OCR head Catherine Lhamon and EdTrust representative Eric Duncan defended examining demographic discipline data, arguing that failing to review disparities hides discrimination and undermines accountability.[NPR]
- Fayetteville Superintendent John Mulford stated the district received notice of the probe two hours prior to the public announcement and had not been informed of specific violations.[NPR]
- A spokesperson for Milwaukee Public Schools stated that the Education Department's notice did not specify the grounds for the investigation.[NPR]
What remains uncertain
- The precise evidence and specific district incidents that prompted the federal investigations into Fayetteville Public Schools and Milwaukee Public Schools remain unclarified by the Department of Education.[NPR]