Source: Texas Tribune

Three decades ago, schools across the country began bolstering discipline to deter juvenile crime. Zero-tolerance policies were introduced, school law enforcement budgets swelled and suspensions, expulsions and student arrests multiplied. Black students are almost four times as likely to receive an out-of-school suspension and twice as likely to be arrested as their white peers, according to federal data. Harsh discipline can backfire, especially when meted out arbitrarily. It may reinforce bad behavior or encourage students to drop out, creating what sociologists call the “school-to-prison-pipeline.” Flooded with about 1,500 complaints related to racial discrimination in school discipline between 2011 and 2017, the Obama administration made the issue a priority. But under Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the Trump administration is taking a more hands-off approach. DeVos has indicated that she may soon reverse Obama-era guidelines on disparate impact and school discipline, and her hires have signaled this policy shift. The Education Department has closed at least 65 school discipline investigations opened under Obama without any mandated reforms.