Students of Color with Disabilities Are Being Pushed into the School-to-Prison Pipeline, Study Finds
Exclusionary discipline practices in K-12 schools—suspension, expulsion and other disciplinary actions that take a student away from the classroom—raise the chances that a student will repeat a grade, drop out or end up in the criminal justice system. And students of color who have disabilities are disproportionately likely to face that kind of discipline.
That was part of the findings of a new report released Tuesday from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Beyond Suspensions: Examining School Discipline Policies and Connections to the School-to-Prison Pipeline for Students of Color with Disabilities. Drawing on research and expert testimony, the report calls on schools to reform exclusionary discipline and heavy law enforcement involvement—and asks the federal government to help.