October 2012
Oakland schools to let feds monitor discipline of black students
Agreement with U.S. Department of Education is aimed at ensuring that African American students are not disciplined more frequently and harshly than their white classmates.
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/01/local/la-me-oakland-schools-20121001
October 2012
Oakland Schools To Allow Federal Monitoring Of Black Student Discipline
The Oakland Unified School District and the U.S. Department of Education agreed last week to allow for at least five years of federal monitoring as the district attempts to reduce the disproportionately high black student suspension rate, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The resolution, of which the Oakland school board voted 6-0 in favor, concludes an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into whether discipline of black students was harsher and more frequent and harshly than for their white peers.
Data released by the Department of Education in March showed that black students are three-and-a-half times as likely to be suspended or expelled as their white classmates.
Under last week’s agreement, federal officials will keep watch on 38 Oakland schools and oversee the district’s five-year plan to address students’ needs by offering mentoring services to at-risk students, providing training for teachers and staff and combatting disciplinary issues without resorting to suspensions.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, almost 20 percent of Oakland’s black males were suspended at least once last year — six times the rate of white students. In middle school, one out of every three black students was suspended at least once. Furthermore, research conducted during the 2010-11 school year found that more than half of African American male students in the Oakland Unified School District are at risk of dropping out.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/oakland-schools-to-allow-_n_1933909.html
