Written by Ashley Varnado
Imagine an African American Chicago Public School (CPS) freshmen student named Anthony. He wakes up every day at 6:30 a.m. to get ready for school. Anthony takes a shower, brushes his teeth, eats a bowl of oatmeal, checks over his homework, and then heads out the door to school. The first faces Anthony sees when he arrives at school are city police officers who command the metal detectors that he must pass through before he begins class.
During second period, Anthony takes out his cell phone to let his mother know that he arrived safely at school, but the teacher reprimands him for violating the school code on cell phone use and sends him to the principal’s office. As a result, Anthony receives a three-day out-of-school suspension. Anthony’s parents work during the day, so he remains at home unsupervised, hanging out with students who have similarly been suspended. Anthony returns to school during the week of finals and fails two of his tests because he missed important review sessions while he was suspended. Even though Anthony is only a freshmen, he is now off track to graduate on time. He is suspended again during his sophomore year for being late to class and becomes more alienated from school. By Anthony’s junior year, the out-of-school suspensions have caused him to fall so far behind academically that he loses hope and drops out of high school. His dream of attending college is now a distant memory. Like many high school drop-outs, Anthony’s job prospects are not promising. To make ends meet, Anthony falls into a life of crime that ultimately lands him in prison. What makes this story even more depressing is that this downward spiral started from his simple use of a cell phone.
Anthony’s experience is not unique. The American school system is currently faced with an epidemic of exclusionary school discipline. Exclusionary discipline is any form of disciplinary action that removes a student from the classroom. This includes in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and expulsion. A study conducted by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found that African American students are over three-and-a-half times more likely to be suspended or expelled from school compared to white students.
CHICAGO’S DISCIPLINE PROBLEM
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is facing its own epidemic in exclusionary discipline. In the study, African Americans comprised 45% of the enrollment in CPS but accounted for 76% of the students who were suspended. In contrast, white students comprised 9% of the student enrollment in CPS but accounted for 3% of the students who were suspended. In the 2010-2011 school year, CPS students missed 306,731 days of school due to exclusionary disciplinary action. The removal from class for minor infractions increases the academic achievement gap between African American and white students, furthering the cycle of underachievement. CPS’s reliance on a Student Code of Conduct (SCC) that endorses disproportionate punishment for minor infractions and wide discretion in determining appropriate discipline that can give way to racial biases and stereotypes leads to the disparate rates at which African Americans are removed from the classroom.
FAILING SCHOOLS
When a child is not in the classroom that means he or she is not learning. Many schools are refusing to address the underlying causes of a student’s behavior and are instead relying on harsh disciplinary measures as a temporary, although damaging, solution. That is why a student who is suspended is more likely to be suspended again and to become involved in the criminal justice system.
CPS is diverting its attention from ensuring the academic success of its students to overarching disciplinary measures that make learning nearly impossible for those affected. The CPS four year high school graduation rate in 2012 was 68.5%, a decrease from 73.8% the previous year. During the past ten years, CPS’s performance on the Illinois State Achievement Test (ISAT) trails the remainder of Illinois schools. In 2012, 92% of white CPS students met or exceeded the mathematics portion of the ISAT as compared to 73% of African American students. The latest ISAT scores for the 2013 school year are even more disappointing and have declined since 2012. Only 41% of African American students met or exceeded the reading portion of the exam and only 40% of African American students met or exceeded the mathematics portion of the exam.
RACIAL STEREOTYPES AND IMPLICIT BIASES
When a child violates a CPS student code provision, the classroom teacher often determines whether a student will be sent to the principal’s office and face exclusionary discipline measures. In the 2013-2014 school year, white teachers accounted for 49.7% of the CPS teachers and African American teachers accounted for 24.3%. Racial stereotypes may come into play when determining whether a student has engaged in behavior that warrants sending him or her to the principal’s office. One of the most prominent of these stereotypes is the “black as criminal stereotype.” As a result, when an African American student misbehaves, a teacher is more likely to view this behavior as criminal in nature and feel warranted in issuing a harsher punishment. This would include giving a student an in-school suspension where a detention may have been sufficient.
Cultural differences also contribute to racially disproportionate school discipline. While many believe that everyone living in the United States shares a common “American” culture, this is simply not the case. African Americans and whites have a number of cultural differences that contribute to the disproportionate rate at which African Americans face exclusionary discipline, one being differing forms of communication. Some African American males speak in what may be perceived as a more “active and boisterous tone.” The behavior is then misinterpreted, resulting in the disproportionate number of African Americans receiving out-of-school suspensions.
LIMITED MEASURES BY CPS TO ADDRESS THE DISCIPLINE DILEMMA
CPS does not have on blinders when it comes to the disparity of exclusionary discipline policies. The district began to make revisions to its Student Code of Conduct in response to outcry over its harsh disciplinary measures. For example, in the 2012 revision, mandatory ten day suspensions for “serious offenses” such as arson and sexual assault were eliminated and reduced to five, giving the principal the discretion to issue a ten day suspension if he or she deemed it necessary. Despite changes that have been implemented, the Code is still largely punitive in nature and open to much discretion, giving way to possible discrimination and bias when deciding an African American student’s punishment. Students still face disproportionate discipline for minor infractions. Among these include an out-of-school suspension for the unauthorized use of a cell phone or inappropriately wearing a Military Academy Uniform.
KEEPING STUDENTS IN SCHOOL
Due to the lack of success that CPS has had in decreasing the rate at which African American students are removed from the classroom, federal government intervention is necessary. To combat exclusionary discipline, the following steps must be taken:
(1) CPS, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice, must implement an action plan. A federal task force will review every middle and high school to study the severity of exclusionary discipline. After a report has been made, each school will develop a plan to ensure that students are not removed from school for behavior that does not put staff and classmates in danger. Action plans will include targeting at-risk ninth grade students and implementing cross-cultural and classroom management workshops for teachers.
(2) A re-vamping of the Student Code of Conduct will have the biggest impact on keeping students in school. An emphasis must be placed on alternative discipline such as restorative justice programs. The SCC must limit school removal to only violent offenses. As it currently stands, a student can be removed from school for something as simple as using offensive language.