Somewhere along the line, students became adults too soon. We are four years removed from federal officials opening a civil rights investigation into our disciplinary practices. We’ve made progress but still have more to overcome. African American students are still being disproportionally disciplined and this must stop. Whereas they represent less than 33% of the 70,000 students in our district, our African American sons and daughters represent over 60% of out of school suspensions.

This is precious instructional time lost, and we as a district can’t justify why or the volume. Searching for solutions has taken too long, and I will fight to expedite this process. With your help, we will keep our kids in school.