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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Chicago Public School Students Face Racial Discipline Gap: Education Department

Chicago Public School Students Face Racial Discipline Gap: Education Department:

Chicago Public School Students Face Racial Discipline Gap: Education Department

In Chicago public schools, black students receive harsher punishments for in-school infractions than white students, a fact that mirrors a nationwide trend, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Education Tuesday. The report paints a startling picture of racial disparities in how students are disciplined in schools across the country.

Nationally, black students are more than three-and-a-half times more likely than white students to be suspended or expelled, according to the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights' survey, known as the "Civil Rights Data Collection." More than 70 percent of students arrested in school or handed over to law enforcement were black or Hispanic.

In Chicago, white students comprised three percent of suspensions -- and 10 percent of the total student