Racial Disparities of Student Expulsions and Suspensions, Commentary by Scot X. Esdaile, President State Conference NAACP

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Since the NAACP’s founding 106 years ago, education has been the fountainhead for our long struggle for equality and full citizenship.
Consequently, we are troubled and highly dismayed with recent state Department of Education data that reveals an ongoing racial disproportionality with respect to expulsion and suspension in our traditional and charter public schools.
This dire situation cannot continue. The Connecticut State Conference of NAACP Branches believes this situation is indicative of the inability of our schools to adapt to growing populations of young people who require more patience, resources, and creativity than previous generations. Moreover, we believe many of the schools these students attend lack the expertise and learning resources to help them overcome their unearned disadvantages. The report also reveals that black and Latino students, especially males, are routinely suspended and expelled for minor school policy infractions, when compared to white students.