Kansas’ largest school district used discriminatory discipline according to the Justice Department

Kansas' largest school district used discriminatory discipline according to the Justice Department

The Justice Department announced a settlement agreement with Kansas’s largest school district on Tuesday, following an extensive investigation that revealed the district punished Black and disabled students more frequently and harshly than its white counterparts.

According to a release issued on Tuesday, the Justice Department’s investigation into Wichita Public Schools “discovered that several schools were using discriminatory methods to administer discipline to Black students.”

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Black girls faced “especially high levels of exclusion” for dress code violations or “perceived insubordination,” according to an investigation into the district’s 87 schools and special programs conducted between the start of the 2020–2021 school year and the end of the fall semester of the 2022–2023 school year. The release further stated that their behavior was frequently described using “stereotypical terms like ‘attitude’ or drama.”

The investigation also discovered “security guard response patterns that escalate incidents and route discipline complaints, causing Black students to be unnecessarily referred to law enforcement for repetitive or minor infractions” and “evidence of discrimination based on race” in referrals to law enforcement.

Additionally, the district “repeatedly secluded and restrained” disabled students as a form of discipline or in response to their disobedience of staff directives and school policies.

According to the release, at least 44 students had “20 or more restraints and seclusions” during the investigation’s time frame, and students with disabilities accounted for more than 98% of the district’s approximately 3,000 restraints and seclusions, which involved placing a child in a room by themselves.

According to the statement, one student was restrained or sequestered an astounding 144 times, including 99 seclusions that lasted more than 15 hours in total.

Overall, there were either no student behavior interventions in place at the district’s schools or settings for students with disabilities, or they were not used at all. The department noted that the district’s special schools for kids with behavioral disabilities were even more stark, with staff members unable to meet the needs of the students and “Not as good as the typical school, lacking furniture, educational resources, and school decor.”

As part of the settlement, Wichita Public Schools will have to provide better services for students with disabilities, such as eliminating the use of seclusions as a form of punishment, counseling for students who have been restrained and secluded repeatedly, and establishment an office to oversee staff members’ use of restraint and make sure they are offering interventions and support to students.

In addition, the district will establish district-wide oversight of schools to guarantee that discipline is administered without bias, guarantee that law enforcement and school security only intervene in “appropriate circumstances,” and standardize dress code regulations.

“Our communities’ schools shouldn’t be a source of mistrust or terror. “Our fundamental beliefs of ending the school-to-prison pipeline and safeguarding our most vulnerable students from discrimination and segregation are upheld by this agreement,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department stated in the release.

The changes have to take effect by January 1, 2025.

Kelly Bielefeld, the superintendent of schools in Wichita, stated in a statement: “By altering some of our practices and procedures, we can and must create a more equitable school district.” The settlement with the DOJ will put an end to the use of seclusion, establish a new student code of conduct, and give information about disciplinary procedures to staff, students, caregivers, and the community in a clear and consistent manner.

He said, “Together, we will keep doing and being better for our students.”

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