In addition to chronic student absenteeism, the 2013-2014 CRDC collected data on several new topics for the first time, including access to educational programs in justice facilities; availability of distance education, including online courses; the presence of sworn law enforcement officers in schools (including school resource officers); availability of partially or fully cost-subsidized preschool; and whether the district has a civil rights coordinator.
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Nationwide, nearly half of high schools offered classes in calculus, and more than three-quarters offered Algebra II.
51 percent of high schools with high black and Latino enrollment also have assigned police officers.
The latest U.S. Department of Education survey reveals the United States’ “systemic failure” to provide education to all students equally. The school axed a two-year-long geometry course that had been a “dumping ground” for low-achieving students before Dougherty became the head of the school, too. Students with disabilities were also twice as likely to be suspended as general education students.
But the racial gap encompasses much more than discipline — students of color similarly have less access to experienced teachers and advanced math and sciences courses than their white peers do, the study said. Although black and Latino students make up 42 percent of students enrolled in schools that offer GATE programs, they are only 28 percent of the students who participate in those programs.
The results don’t “paint a very good picture”, said Liz King, senior policy analyst and director of education policy at the Leadership for Civil and Human Rights. “But I don’t think there’s any way you can look at this data and not come away with a tremendous sense of urgency about continuing to close our equity gaps”.
Catherine Lhamon, the assistant secretary for civil rights called the 20 percent reduction in suspensions across the country “breathtaking”. Although about 6 percent of all K-12 students were handed one or more out-of-school suspensions, the percentage by racial group made up 18 percent for black boys, 10 percent for black girls, 5 percent for white boys and 2 percent for white girls.
The report also suggests sharp disparities between how black and white students are disciplined in school as well as the types of advanced coursework offered in high school to black and Latino children.
– Black girls are 8% of enrolled students, but 14% of students receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions.
But black students were almost four times as likely to be suspended as white students, and almost twice as likely to be expelled. Students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act represent 11 percent of the students in schools offering AP, but less than 2 percent of those taking such a class.
As unfortunate as it may be, the persistent inequities in K-12 schools are not surprising. “Some schools have figured out a way to deal with this problem without suspending kids”.
The disproportionate data pattern for student discipline begins with America’s youngest students. It partners with states and local groups in 30 communities to identify mentors to help habitually absent kids get back on track.
King said the data on absenteeism is “a call for action”.
“And there’s no question – even the best teachers can’t be successful with students who aren’t in class, and so we’ve got work to do as a country on this issue”. But among black, Latino, American Indian and multiracial high school students, it was about 20 percent.
More than 20 percent of high schools lack any school counselor. This is troubling because students who miss school are likely to fall behind and eventually drop out. And once again, blacks and Hispanics were more likely to attend such schools.
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– Elementary school students with disabilities served by IDEA are 1.5 times as likely to be chronically absent as elementary school students without disabilities.
