On April 24, the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released the 2015-16 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). This data, self-reported by 17,300 public school districts and 96,400 public schools and educational programs, is collected and published annually by OCR. The CRDC includes, for the first time, comprehensive data regarding incidents of criminal offenses in schools, as well as several new categories of data on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) course taking. Among other issues, the report provides a biennial record of incidences of bullying, discipline and school safety.
Students with disabilities are approximately 12 percent of overall student enrollment, yet 28 percent of students with disabilities were referred to law enforcement or arrested in 2015-16. In addition, they were bullied, suspended and expelled at higher rates than children without disabilities. Significant disparities exist in these areas for preschoolers with disabilities as well.
This data provides ample evidence that the U.S. Department of Education’s attempt to dismiss discipline guidance and delay the implementation of disproportionality regulations is ill-advised. CEC is on record for opposing both actions by the U.S. Department of Education.
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