Sixty years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that black children have the right to the same education as their white peers.
But civil rights data released Friday by the Education Department reflect an education system rife with inequities for blacks and other minority students and those with disabilities.
Minority students are less likely to have access to advanced math and science classes and veteran teachers. Black students of any age, even the youngest preschoolers, are more likely to be suspended. And students with disabilities are more likely than other students to be tied down or placed alone in a room as a form of discipline.
"It is clear that the United States has a great distance to go to meet our goal of providing opportunities for every student to succeed," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
But the department offered no explanation of why these disparities exist.
Here are five things to know about the department's findings:
Access to Advanced Classes:
STEM is the buzzword in education these days. Education in the fields of science, technology and engineering and math is considered critical for students to succeed in the global marketplace. Yet the department found that there was a "significant lack of access" to core classes like algebra, geometry, biology, and chemistry for many students. That lack of access was particularly striking when it came to minorities.
![Education in the fields of science, technology and engineering and math (STEM) is considered critical for students to succeed in the global marketplace. Yet the U.S. Department of Education found that there was a "significant lack of access" to core classes like algebra, geometry, biology, and chemistry for many students. That lack of access was particularly striking when it came to minorities.](../../sites/default/files/stories/EducationalDisparities2-madscience.jpg "Education in the fields of science, technology and engineering and math (STEM) is considered critical for students to succeed in the global marketplace. Yet the U.S. Department of Education found that there was a "significant lack of access" to core classes like algebra, geometry, biology, and chemistry for many students. That lack of access was particularly striking when it came to minorities. Photo Credit: madscience.org")
"A quarter of high schools with the highest percentage of black and Latino students do not offer Algebra II; a third of these schools do not offer chemistry," the department said.
And it's not just lack of access to core curriculum subjects.
Only a quarter of black and Latino students were enrolled in an Advanced Placement class, which allows high school students to earn college credit, and fewer than one in five got a high enough score generally necessary to get college credit.
Even as black and Latino students represent 40 percent of the enrollment in schools offering gifted and talented programs, they represent only a quarter of the students in their schools enrolled in them.
Christopher Emdin, a professor of science education at Teachers College, Columbia University, said if a school doesn't offer advanced math and science classes, students are told they are not expected to take those classes.
"There is nothing more severe in contemporary America, particularly as it relates to youth of color, than the soft bigotry of low expectations," Emdin said. "These inequities in the availability of science and math classes show young people that not much is expected of them. It highlights a subtle and severe bias that we will collectively suffer from as our STEM jobs continue to go unfilled, and our young people refuse to be scientists and engineers."
Experienced Teachers
Quality teachers can play a key role in student performance.
Minority students are more likely to attend schools with a higher concentration of first-year teachers than white students. And while most teachers are certified, nearly half a million students nationally attend schools where nearly two-thirds or fewer of teachers meet all state certification and licensing requirements. Black and Latino students are more likely than white students to attend these schools.
There's also a teacher salary gap of more than $5,000 between high schools with the highest and lowest black and Latino students enrollments, according to the data.
Maddie Fennell, a literacy coach at Miller Park Elementary, an urban school in Omaha, Neb., said that too often in teaching, the mindset is that the more experienced a teacher is, the more deserving the teacher is of a less-challenging school environment. She said this doesn't make sense because, in comparison, an experienced surgeon wouldn't be given the healthiest patients. Ultimately, she said, the most qualified teachers will request to follow strong principals.
"A lot of it has to do with the leadership of a (school) building," Fennell said.
Discipline
The Obama administration issued guidance earlier this year encouraging schools to abandon what it described as overly zealous discipline policies that send students to court instead of the principal's office, the so-called "schools-to-prisons pipeline." But even before the announcement, school districts had been adjusting policies that disproportionately affected minority students. The civil rights data released Friday from the 2011-2012 school year show the disparities begin among even the youngest of school kids. Black children represent about 18 percent of children in preschool programs in schools, but they make up almost half of the preschoolers who are suspended more than once. Six percent of the nation's districts with preschools reported suspending at least one preschool child.
Overall, the data show that black students of all ages are suspended and expelled at a rate that's three times higher than that of white children. Even as boys receive more than two-thirds of suspensions, black girls are suspended at higher rates than girls of any other race or most boys. More than half of students involved in school-related arrests or referred to law enforcement were Hispanic or black.
Seclusion and Restraint
"Seclusion and restraint" is a term used to describe when students are strapped down or physically restrained in schools. The data show students with disabilities represent about 12 percent of the student population, but about 60 percent of students placed in seclusion or involuntary confinement and three quarters of students restrained at school. While black students make up about one in five of students with disabilities, more than one-third of the students who are restrained at school are black. Overall, the data show that more than 37,000 students were placed in seclusion, and 4,000 students with disabilities were held in place by a mechanical restraint.
Democrats Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., have unsuccessfully fought for a federal law for years to end the practice. National associations representing school boards and superintendents have said such legislation would reduce the authority of states and districts, but that seclusion and restraint should only be used as a last resort to protect school staff and students.
Preschool
The Obama administration views access to preschool as a civil rights issue. It says 40 percent of school districts do not offer preschool programs. Their numbers don't include private programs or some other types of publicly funded early childhood programs outside of school systems. Obama has sought a "preschool for all" program with the goal of providing universal preschool to America's 4-year-old that would use funding from a hike in tobacco taxes.
Editor's Question: Why Do You Think Such Glaring Disparities Still Exist in 2014? And, What Do You Think Should Be Done About it?
Follow Kimberly Hefling on Twitter.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
Comments
i agree that these students
i agree that these students should be given more and more expectations. these teachers and administrators are the key to them advancing in their life. yes these students should ultimately make the decision, but the teachers should also push them to want more for themselves. and these teachers dont necessarily have to be smarter or more challenging to do that. they just need to have the correct approach to how they teach. they need to inspire their students and make them reach for more in their lives. they dont need to only do the bear minimum to get by as a teacher, but instead take pride into the fact they are teacher the future generation.
i think there should not be
i think there should not been inequality between whites, bkacks and minority students because all of them are students
There should not be
There should not be inequality, but there is. Schools all over the country treat minorities differently. These facts just confirm what most of us already knew. Education should be equal for every student. Every student deserves to be treated the same. Race is one of the factors that should not determine how a child is treated. Sexual orientation and economic status should also not determine treatment in schools.
Schools
As a student who is African American and has attended both "black and "white" schools while growing up, I can personally attest that the primary problem with the disparity between these schools is money. Generally, poorer areas have more criminals, and minorities are generally poorer than white; that is the way it has always been. Minorities that grow up with money are statistically far less likely to enter a life of crime, but those kids are not attending the schools in poorer areas. Schools that struggle with money all attract less experienced teachers and cannot afford better equipment or books. The root of all of these problems is money, and unless we can somehow bring up the salary of many people, I do not see this changing any time soon
i totally agree with you. i
i totally agree with you. i am of a minority and i understand the dilemma of not having access to a good school because of the neighborhood i lived in. i lived in that neighborhood because of the financial status i grew up with. although i and many like me cant control it, it was my life. this problem isnt changing anytime soon, and if they are wanting to change it, that is where it will have to start. better funding for schools and all aspects of it.
Education Challenges
We need a complete overhaul of our educational system in this country. More teachers, more advanced programs, and more parental involvement; with these things, children of all walks of life could have a chance for a complete, well-rounded education. With budgets, qualified teachers, and challenging curriculum spread so thinly across the system, it's no small wonder that minority children are being left behind or given sub-par educations.
In regards to the preschool issue; perhaps if parents didn't have to work so many hours to pay for all the taxes, programs, and other burdens placed on them, they could afford to stay home with a child and remove the need for a national preschool program which would require even more funding, teachers, etc. I don't propose how to reduce work hours, but I see that the root of the issue is parental involvement for all students! Minority families should have an equal opportunity to stay home with their children if they wish; equal pay, opportunity, and education for all would bring this.
Teachers and administration of schools are sadly misinformed when it comes to students with disabilities. With overcrowded classrooms and stressed staff, it is easier to lock a child who is acting out away. The solution to this is again, education and training for teachers, and more of them!
This is crazy
This is something really sad to read. How ever it is reality and there has to be a change here. Into this article the explain that some schools do not have Algebra II or chemistry because they have more black and latin population, but that is a huge mistake. It does not matter if they are going to fail because they need to learn. Public education must be regulated in order to give an equal education for everybody and give to people the same options to succed. Of course this is not a easy problem to fix but it is something real important that must be fixed. United States is a developed country that is why things like these should not happen. Education is some of the priorities to be a developed country and sometimes people do not know but here we see the poor reality that some part of the society have to deal with. I hope that United States fix this as soon as possible and I also hope that the government invest the money in things that really need to be fixed.
I agree that more regulations
I agree that more regulations need to be placed on education in the US. In other countries teachers are paid a significantly higher salary and have specific education requirements. And in these countries literacy rates are higher and a higher percentage of students attend university level education. This is a huge undertaking and something which requires attention immediately.
All the Small Things
It's a cycle that feeds upon itself, like a cartoon snow ball rolling down a hill, becoming larger and larger with every revolution. The insidiousness of racist microaggressions manifesting within institutions in US society leads to small choices, such as allocating a little bit more money to certain (i.e. mostly white) schools and sending a more experienced teacher to a "better" (i.e. mostly white) school, that build upon themselves until one day when we step back to look at it and see a hot mess, such as the mess that the study referenced in this article depicts. The biggest problem, in my humble opinion, is that mentioned by a few other commenters - the self-fulfilling prophecy. When these racist microaggressions (that lead to these inequities) are based in a white racist frame of society that views minorities as "lesser," those who adhere to this white racist frame (which is most of us white people, unfortunately) then see these inequities as a manifestation, not of these microaggressions in practice, but of the inability of "lesser" races to achieve the level of white accomplishment and 'civility.' Until we (white people) change the way in which we view "others" - until we (white people) change our racial framing of society from racist to socially just - until we (white people) challenge and change our interactions with "others" - we (white people) will continue to have the blood of those very "others" that we view as "lesser" on our hands and we (all people) will never achieve social justice in any way. So, how will you (white person) make a stand for social justice today? Tomorrow?
This article is shocking! The
This article is shocking! The educational disparities are obvious and perpetuate the persistent racial issues in the US. Adequate education is not only a necessity, but a right and withholding this right is a huge injustice to these children. We have read about how education allows for a greater opportunity to improve class status and without an adequate education, these students do not have the opportunity to attend college or obtain their desired career. I also agree that the lack of encouragement for students to pursue advanced classes creates a student who may not feel that they can be successful. Education is such an important right and the disparities described in this article are disheartening.
This article is everything
This article is everything except SHOCKING!! I agree with your thoughts on the article, but as we all are aware their is and always has been a difference in the type of education that children receive in most communities based on what side of town they live on. The north part of the cities is usually the predominately white area with expensive homes and good schools, while the southern side of town is usually occupied by minorities with significantly cheaper homes which leads to under funded schools, with overcrowded classrooms and understaffed faculty!
Disparities
I think that such disparities within the education system of the United States between whites and minorities still exist due to one reason. That reason being that racism still exists in the United States! Their currently is no solution to end the inequalities in schools between minorities and whites, because their is no solution to end racism currently! Yes I applaud Obama for attempting to use something as negative as the tax on tobacco sales in an effort to help our young children get a jump start on education, but my question is will a jump start be enough to help them along the way as the inequalities of education keeps growing? As we know local schools are funded by the communities property tax, which in poor neighborhoods where the homes are significantly cheaper than the upper class neighborhoods their will be a major difference in the types of funding the schools will receive which leads to a significant difference in the tools and quality of teachers between the two. Being that minorities make less than whites in the US they are the ones that typically live in the poorer neighborhoods, with their children attending the schools with the least amount of funding!!
Disparities
I think that such disparities within the education system of the United States between whites and minorities still exist due to one reason. That reason being that racism still exists in the United States! Their currently is no solution to end the inequalities in schools between minorities and whites, because their is no solution to end racism currently! Yes I applaud Obama for attempting to use something as negative as the tax on tobacco sales in an effort to help our young children get a jump start on education, but my question is will a jump start be enough to help them along the way as the inequalities of education keeps growing? As we know local schools are funded by the communities property tax, which in poor neighborhoods where the homes are significantly cheaper than the upper class neighborhoods their will be a major difference in the types of funding the schools will receive which leads to a significant difference in the tools and quality of teachers between the two. Being that minorities make less than whites in the US they are the ones that typically live in the poorer neighborhoods, with their children attending the schools with the least amount of funding!!
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