When is suspending students discrimination? Education Dept. renews an old fight
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Fayetteville Public Schools for using race-based criteria in student discipline policies. The district maintains its policies are consistent with federal law, sparking a broader debate over how to address disciplinary disparities without violating civil rights.
Why it matters
This case highlights the ongoing tension between restorative justice initiatives and federal anti-discrimination mandates in American education.
DragonImages/iStockphoto via Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education recently announced it was investigating Fayetteville Public Schools in Arkansas, much to the district's surprise.
The reason, according to a department press release : Teachers there "were directed to take students' racial identities into account when issuing discipline as part of an effort to bring about 'restorative justice' to address 'the disproportionality of discipline on students of color.'"
Superintendent John Mulford says the district received notice of the investigation roughly two hours before the department publicly named Fayetteville as a target in its national release.
"We're a little shocked at this point and completely in the dark as to what this is even about," Mulford says.
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