CRDC Data Show Continued Need for Discipline Guidance

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released the 2015-16 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC).

“The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) data released today are deeply troubling. The data show that students of color and students with disabilities continue to be disproportionally pushed out of school, and referred to law enforcement, for disciplinary reasons. These data only reinforce the need for the Office for Civil Rights to take its civil rights responsibilities seriously and provide schools with the tools they need to address these disparities. In light of today’s release, rescinding the 2014 Dear Colleague Letter on School Discipline, as the department has considered, would demonstrate that Secretary DeVos does not care about the safety and success of our children.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.