A new report revealed disparities in school disciplinary treatment between girls of color and their white classmates in Massachusetts.
The nonprofit Appleseed Network conducted a year-long research project and discovered that Black girls in the Bay State are roughly 3.9 times more likely to be disciplined than their white peers.
Deb Silva, Executive Director of Massachusetts Appleseed and a key partner on this project, said the report “demonstrates the devastating impact that the intersection of gender and racial discrimination is having on Black girls in Massachusetts schools, and the indisputable need to include our classrooms in the ongoing dialogues about systemic racism currently sweeping the country.”
“The school-to-prison pipeline is very much alive in Massachusetts, and this report is an important step forward in our work to advocate against the unjust school discipline policies that target and punish girls of color and promote a more inclusive and supportive vision of education,” she continued.
The project also found that Black girls in Alabama are roughly 3.7 times more likely to be disciplined than their white female classmates and 6.2 times more likely in Kansas.
The authors of the report say the findings “emphasize the significant change needed in school district disciplinary policies and data collection methods in order to protect girls of color from being funneled into the school-to-prison pipeline by means of excessive school discipline.”
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