According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, schools suspended 2.7 million students in 2015-16, and black boys made up 25% of that number, and black girls 14%, even though they together are only about 15% of all students. Similarly, 31% of students who were arrested or referred to police were black. And data shows these racial disparities in discipline are growing in American public schools.
We’re joined by Dr. Martha Bireda, author of the new book “Reflective Discipline: Reducing Racial Disparity in Referrals and Suspensions” which explores these trends, and proposes ways for teachers, administrators, and school resource officers to take cultural differences and implicit biases into account during disciplinary situations.
Dr. Bireda is also a lecturer with more than 35 years of experience as a diversity trainer and consultant, and she is Director of the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture in Punta Gorda.
