Tackling the Suspension Disparity: A Call for Equity in Education
As a child, I was fond of the Flintstones cartoon, and its creator, Joseph Barbera, once admitted to never making it to the office by 9 a.m. in six years. His confession stirred my thoughts about tardiness and the punitive measures schools impose on latecomers, sparking today's post.
Being late is something we’ve all likely experienced at one point or another. Despite this, schools are increasingly suspending students for lateness. This practice disrupts their learning journey and adds an additional workload on educators who must prepare make-up materials. Moreover, it denies children the foundational work on new units that cannot be replicated in a home, or even an in-school suspension environment.
“There’s an evident suspension disparity problem rooted in racial inequality. The prevalent narrative seems to be that a child’s justification for tardiness is more readily accepted if they’re White, but dismissed if they’re Black, Latine, or Native American.”
This situation is even more disturbing when we consider the circumstances of many of these students. Many of them are responsible for younger siblings, often getting them ready and fed before school because their parents work jobs incompatible with school schedules. When these children arrive late to school and are then sent home as punishment, it's difficult to see the logic, let alone the fairness.
An analysis of attendance records in Arizona schools illuminates the gravity of the issue. In the past five school years, over 47,000 suspensions have been imposed for attendance violations across just 80 districts. The scope of this problem is likely larger as many of the 250 districts did not provide comprehensive data.
Alarming is the over-representation of Black, Latine, and Native American students among those suspended. Black and Latine students constituted 90% of the suspensions for attendance violations. These figures highlight a stark disproportionality given that Black and Latine students do not represent 90% of the total student population in any of the states. In Arizona, for instance, Black students made up 6% of total enrollment but accounted for 15% of suspensions. Latine students represented 43% of enrollment, yet accounted for 68% of suspensions. Similarly, Native American students accounted for double or triple the share of suspensions based on their enrollment proportion in districts with significant representation.
There's an evident suspension disparity problem rooted in racial inequality. The prevalent narrative seems to be that a child's justification for tardiness is more readily accepted if they're White, but dismissed if they're Black, Latine, or Native American. Such practices could be perceived as a violation of civil rights, and a dialogue with those well-versed in this legislation is needed to dissect this.
The exclusion of students in response to tardiness doesn't meet any educational goal. It's a punishment gap that disproportionately affects Black, Latine, and Native American students. To rectify this, schools must rethink their disciplinary strategies and focus on supporting students rather than penalizing them for circumstances often beyond their control.
Our children's future depends on how equitably we treat them today. We must tackle this issue head-on to ensure an equitable learning environment for all students. After all, the clock is ticking, and our children can't afford to lose any more learning time.
