Breaking: New GAO Report Shows Disparities in School Discipline for Children With Disabilities #school discipline

A new report issued by the Government Accountability Office released today found that Black students, boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined (e.g., suspensions and expulsions) in K-12 public schools, according to GAO's analysis of Department of Education (Education) national civil rights data for school year 2013-14, the most recent available. These disparities were widespread and persisted regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school attended. For example, Black students accounted for 15.5 percent of all public school students, but represented about 39 percent of students suspended from school—an overrepresentation of about 23 percentage points (see figure).

The report found that children with disabilities were overrepresented in disciplinary actions by 13.2 percent.

Here is a quote from the report "For students with disabilities, the same pattern of disproportionately higher rates of discipline compared to their peers without disabilities was evident, according to Education’s school year 2013-14 data (see fig. 5).33 Students with disabilities represented approximately 12 percent of all public school students, and accounted for nearly 25 percent or more of students referred to law enforcement, arrested for a school-related incident, or suspended from school (an overrepresentation of roughly 15.5 percentage points for referrals to law enforcement and schoolrelated arrests, and 13 percentage points for out-of-school suspensions). Further, our analysis of discipline for students with disabilities by both race and sex showed that Black students with disabilities and boys with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined across all six actions. For example, Black students with disabilities represented about 19 percent of all K-12 students with disabilities, and accounted for nearly 36 percent of students with disabilities suspended from school (about 17 percentage points above their representation among students with disabilities). See appendix IV, table 13 for additional data on discipline by student disability status, including data organized by sex and race or ethnicity."

You can review a summary here. An NPR story on the report is available here. You can review the entire 98 page report here.