LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has concluded its investigation into discriminatory student discipline at Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS).
“Persistent race disparities were noted across all years for which [the office] reviewed such data,” the office said in a letter sent to JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio on Sept. 25.
According to the report, African American students were roughly three times more likely than white students to receive out-of-school suspension (OSS) at least once in a given school year.
There were also disparities in the “imposition of discipline” for African American students compared to white students, for instance, the report found African American students were more likely to receive OSS for first-time offenses.
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JCPS also wasn’t recording enough data on student disciplinary dispositions to determine whether discipline was being administered in a nondiscriminatory manner, the OCR said.
The OCR said before it completed its investigation, JCPS requested to resolve the review by implementing policies that address the agency's findings. The school district, which is the largest in Kentucky, agreed to several resolutions.
“OCR will monitor the district’s implementation of the agreement until the district is in compliance with the terms of the agreement and the statute and regulation at issue,” the letter said.
The Department of Education and the district agreed to an eight-page agreement that outlines several ways JCPS will change its student discipline practices and trainings over the next several years.
Those resolutions include a committee of teachers, students and community members reviewing the student discipline handbook, identifying teachers that are over-disciplining students, and offering education opportunities to certain students that missed class time due to suspensions.
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