Latino Students in Pennsylvania Face a Serious Problem | Michaela Pommells: According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Pennsylvania's public schools suspend Latino and African-American students at rates higher than the national average. For those of us in the trenches of it, this comes as no surprise. For months we've watched Governor Tom Corbett and Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel trade kids for jail. In the face of an alleged school budget crisis, Corbett is building a $400 million dollar prison just outside of Philadelphia. It is rather clear where Pennsylvania's priorities lie.
Aligning our educational system with the criminal justice system is not a natural occurrence. Whether it's a systematic plan or an unintended consequence of bad policies, the impact is great. For Hispanic students living in Pennsylvania, it's nightmarish. They make up just 8.4 percent of the students in the states public school system yet they account for 14.5 percent of students receiving out of school suspensions. Across the state, Latino students face a 1 in 10 chance of being suspended at least once and they are three times more likely to be suspended than White students. The warning for Latino students is clear; they are bearing a large brunt of school disciplinary action.
