African American students especially, along with Latinos and Native American students, are suspended or expelled in numbers vastly disproportionate to those of their white peers. This was true in every school district surveyed. Such policies tie the hands of teachers and administrators who might otherwise be able to implement more effective and less destructive means of ensuring school discipline. This finding is directly related to the finding on discipline. Numerous studies have demonstrated that students who are suspended from school are at greater risk of dropping out altogether.
Students of color have less access to advanced classes or programs for gifted students.
Not surprisingly, they are also less likely to enter college after high school graduation. The racial makeup of the teaching corps rarely matches that of the student body. Nor do most school districts require anti-racist or multicultural education training for teachers and administrators. Students of all races suffer when they are denied the opportunity to learn from teachers of color, and when white teachers have not had a chance to acquire the skills they need to teach children of different races and cultures. Statistical evidence points to glaring racial inequalities and discrimination in U.S. public schools.