Black students in middle school stand a much greater chance of being suspended than any other group, especially in parts of Florida and Wisconsin, according to university researchers. Using data from the U.S. Department of Education, researchers found that black males in Palm Beach have a 53% risk of suspension. In Milwaukee, 52% of black females and 51% of black males have been suspended at least once.

 

Nationally, black boys were about three times more likely to be suspended than white students, and black girls were four times as likely as their white counterparts.

 

Hispanic and American Indian middle school students also were more likely to be suspended than white students, although not to the same degree as blacks. Students who were the least likely to be suspended were Asians.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Racial Disparity in School Suspensions (by Sam Dillon, New York Times)

Suspended Education: Urban Middle Schools in Crisis (by Daniel J. Losen and Russell J. Skiba, Southern Poverty Law Center) (pdf)