While racial disparities are a hallmark of the criminal justice system, a growing body of research shows that bias and unequal punishment start as early as pre-kindergarten.
A new report from Texans Care for Children underscores the problem. The advocacy group found that during the 2017-18 school year, Texas schools suspended students between pre-K and second grade more than 70,000 times. Black boys, children in foster care, and students in special education classes were disproportionately suspended.
“Some of this is just pure bias that is implicit and needs to be addressed,” David Feigen the group’s early childhood policy associate, told the Observer, “but this is also about needs that are going unmet.” The numbers suggest that schools harshly punish black boys while also failing some of their other most vulnerable students, he says, just one of many ways the state has failed those children.
