Those were among the key points made during “Schoolhouse Discipline” — a two-day conference held in Atlanta over the weekend and sponsored by the Southern Education Foundation.
Though Black and Latino students, particularly those with various learning-related disabilities, are routinely suspended at disproportionately higher rates — for instance, the rates were 24.3 and 12 percent for Black and Latino students, respectively, at the secondary level, versus 7.1 percent for White students — one scholar noted that some schools have been able to buck the trend.
“The main point is there are alternatives that do work, that are effective and actually have reduced the number of kids being suspended, some of which cost money and some that don’t,” said Daniel J. Losen, director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA.
