SEATTLE — Seattle Schools Superintendent Jose Banda on Thursday night reacted for the first time to allegations that minority students are disciplined more harshly and frequently than white students.
The accusation sparked a federal investigation.
Banda basically acknowledged that there is a problem and has been a problem for a while now in what he calls “disproportionality.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education said it was investigating allegations that minority students in Seattle Public Schools are disciplined at a disproportionate rate compared to their white counterparts and that discipline is harsher.
No one is sure why or how widespread the problem and while the DOE looks into the problem, Banda acknowledged the district must do better.
“We’ve acknowledged, even before the federal government or the Department of Education came into investigate, that we have disproportionality, and that’s something that’s been a concern to the district for a while and something we’ve been working on,” Banda told Q13 FOX News Thursday night.
He added that the district will work collaboratively with the Department of Education on a plan to address the problem.
“We have been. We’ve been very open and transparent with them, providing whatever data they’ve requested, so not so much maybe a plan that they put together, but maybe a plan that we put together, that has action steps on how we can address this issue in a systemic way,” Banda said.
Banda added that any plan to solve the problem would have to be a far-reaching system-wide plan.
There’s no word on when the Department of Education investigation will be complete.
7 Comments to “Seattle schools chief vows to work to fix disproportionate discipline”
March 8, 2013 at 9:46 AM
Not a word is being said about the RATE of disproportionate behavior, just the punishment(s)
March 8, 2013 at 10:05 AM
What's he gonna do…….start punishing the White kids for what the blacks and mexicans do? Shoot, it's the blacks and mexicans who ARE, the trouble makers. Sure there are those White kids who get in trouble, I understand that, but when MOST of the trouble makers are blacks and mexicans, how does he plan to fix THAT?? Ignore them, and pretend that they are little angels!! Get out of town, Jack!!
March 8, 2013 at 10:25 AM
They learn 'Attitude' and 'Entitlement' at home before they take it out into the world
March 8, 2013 at 11:35 AM
So are these students doing something wrong that deserves punishment? Or are they just randomly accusing minority students of wrong doing? If it's the former than I don't understand how you plan on fixing that?
As someone suggested, are you going to punish more white kids to make it even? Or just ignore minority problems to balance out the numbers?
Please provide the percentages of white vs minority offenses so we can actually have some perspective. Right now it sounds like these kids are just mad for being caught and punished.
March 8, 2013 at 5:12 PM
Don't blame the teachers for this problem.
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