On January 8, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Education jointly released a school discipline guidance package. The materials included were intended to assist states, districts, and schools in developing policies and practices to meet existing federal civil rights laws and to promote positive school climates.
Recently, officials at the U.S. Department of Education met with a group calling for the elimination of the guidance. Because the Department has already withdrawn guidance clarifying protections for transgender students and survivors of sexual assault on college campuses, Secretary DeVos may also attempt to withdraw these documents important for protecting students of color.
We’re asking parents, students, and other community advocates to join us in the fight to maintain the federal school discipline guidance, which is a critical tool that can help schools and districts reduce the use of practices that push students out of school (e.g. suspensions and expulsions) and prevent them from disciplining in ways that discriminate against students of color. (See Federal School Discipline Guidance One-Pager for more information.) You can help support this effort by organizing one or more activities in your community to raise awareness of the need for these important protections for students of color. We held a week in March 2018 to protect the guidance. You can see the resources below.
Resources on Protecting the Federal School Discipline Guidance:
- Federal School Discipline Guidance One-Pager
- Webinar on Defending the Guidance
- Week of Action One-Pager
- Social Media Toolkit
- Sample Media Outreach
- Answers to Tough Questions
- Sample Letter to the U.S. Department of Education
- Sample Slide Deck
- Sample Op-Ed
- Contact information for DSC Federal Liaisons