Federal investigation into Milwaukee Public Schools related to race based disciplinary practices
The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into Milwaukee Public Schools’ discipline policies.
In a statement Tuesday, the department said its Office for Civil Rights had started federal Title VI investigations into whether MPS policy requires staff to take race into consideration during disciplinary decisions. The same announcement said a similar investigation has been launched into policies in the school district in Fayetteville, Arkansas
The announcement comes after new guidance from the department aims to “ensure that students are not treated differently based on race, color, or national origin in matters of discipline or otherwise.”
The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) is applauding the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for opening a Title VI investigation into Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) over allegations that its policies require or encourage school officials to consider student race when making disciplinary decisions.
WILL has sounded the alarm on race-based approaches to school discipline for years, beginning with federal guidance issued during the Obama administration and renewed under the Biden administration.
The Quotes: WILL Deputy Counsel, Cory Brewer, stated, “This investigation will hopefully uncover the racially discriminatory school discipline policies at MPS. WILL has spent years calling for reform and a break from the Obama and Biden administrations’ emphasis on racial balancing. Today is a very positive step toward true equality and safe classrooms.”
WILL Research Director Will Flanders, stated, “Discipline quotas based on the color of a student’s skin are a harmful practice that has been shown over and over to just create chaos in our classrooms and contribute to the teacher shortage. We should be honest with ourselves about the dangers that exist to educators in the classroom and the effect on academic achievement.”
What The Trump Administration Said: In their announcement, the Department of Education stated, “In line with this new guidance, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today opened two Title VI investigations into school districts that allegedly require personnel to consider race when making disciplinary decisions . . .
