Report: Minority Students Face Harsher Punishments

By Kimberly Hefling

Washington D.C. - More than 70 percent of students involved in school-related arrests or cases referred to law enforcement were Hispanic or African-American, according to an Education Department report that raises questions about whether students of all races are disciplined evenhandedly in America's schools.

Black students are more than three times as likely as their white peers to be suspended or expelled, according to an early snapshot of the report released to reporters. The findings come from a national collection of civil rights data from 2009-10 of more than 72,000 schools serving 85 percent of the nation.

The Education Department said it would release more details Tuesday.

"The sad fact is that minority students across America face much harsher discipline than non-minorities, even within the same school," Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters.

Duncan said some school officials might not have been aware of inconsistencies in how they handle discipline, and he hoped the report would be an eye-opener.

According to the report, 42 percent of the referrals to law enforcement involve black students and 29 percent involved Hispanics, while 35 percent of students involved in school-related arrests were black and 37 percent were Hispanic.

Black students made up 18 percent of the students in the sample, but they were 35 percent of students suspended once and 39 percent of students expelled, the report said.

State Legislatures Weakening Teacher Tenure Rights

By Kimberly Hefling

Washington - The National Council on Teacher Quality finds teachers are seeing tenure protections weakened as states seek flexibility to fire teachers. Some states have essentially nullified tenure altogether.

The revisions come as states replace virtually automatic "satisfactory" teacher evaluations with those linked to performance and base teacher layoffs on performance instead of seniority. Unions argue the changes lower morale, deny teachers due process and target older teachers.

Tenure is designed to protect teachers from arbitrary or discriminatory firings by spelling out how teachers can be dismissed after a probationary period, but critics say it's too easy to earn.

The council seeks to improve the quality of teaching. It says eight states require student performance to be central to whether a teacher is awarded tenure, which is up from none in 2009.