Black girls are more susceptible to severe discipline than other girls, according to a new report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Sept. 19.
According to the report, Black girls receive harsher punishments than their white counterparts for similar behaviors. Further, the report shows Black girls face exclusionary discipline at rates 5.2 times higher than those of white girls.
“This groundbreaking GAO report…highlights the unacceptable discrimination that Black and brown girls face in K-12 schools every day,” Speaker-Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who requested this report along with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), said in a press release. “The wildly disproportionate number of Black and brown girls who face harsher, more frequent discipline is truly a challenge to the conscience of our nation.”
This new data suggests that schools across the country may need to do more work to eliminate exclusionary discipline and introduce discipline methods that allow Black girls to feel safer in their learning environments.
Congresswoman Pressley plans to do this through the Ending Punitive, Unfair, School-Based Harm that is Overt and Unresponsive to Trauma (PUSHOUT) Act, which would establish $2.5 billion in new federal grants to support states and schools that: commit to ban unfair and discriminatory discipline practices; protect the Civil Rights Data Collection; strengthen the Department of Education’s office of Civil Rights; establish a Federal Interagency Taskforce to end school pushout; and examine disproportionate impact on girls of color.
The bill, which was introduced in 2019 and reintroduced in 2023, has been endorsed by the National Education Association, the National Women’s Law Center, the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, and several other organizations.
“The only way we can address this crisis is through intentional, trauma-informed policy. I hope this report will motivate Congress to advance legislation including my Ending PUSHOUT Act to address the discriminatory pushout of Black girls in schools and create safe, nurturing school environments where every student can thrive,” said Pressley in a press release.
Examining the Criminalization of Black Girls in School
This legislation was inspired by the experiences of girls of color, as well as the “PUSHOUT” book and film written and co-produced by Dr. Monique Couvson, which focuses on the criminalization of Black girls in school, especially through exclusionary discipline.
Couvson gave more insight into biases that often cause issues for Black girls in schools.
“When I talk about push out, I describe it as the policies, practices, conditions, and the prevailing consciousness associated with Black girls. So what we think about Black girls that renders them vulnerable to future contact with the juvenile court or criminal legal systems. And so at the core of that is the adultification bias that Black girls experience, it is the reading of Black girl behaviors as deserving of harsher treatment, no alternatives available,” Couvson explained.
As one of the bill’s endorsers, Couvson said she believes that the Ending PUSHOUT Act “elevates the opportunity for schools to become trauma-informed and healing responsive,” as it would offer incentives to schools to improve dress code policies, examine codes of conduct, and provide training for educators.
“Any policy that is really looking to lead with love rather than fear and that is looking to build out a community for young people and allow them opportunities to respond to their mistakes with care and with guidance are important policies to advance,” Couvson said. “I’ll tell you what needs to go: are the zero tolerance policies…and the hyper punitive codes of conduct that just…push young people away from their learning rather than bring them in close when they need us most.”
The Ending PUSHOUT Act could help to change school environments nationally as well as locally. According to the 2022-2023 Discipline Report from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, which is aggregate data from all Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in Washington, D.C., Black girls were disciplined at higher rates than their peers. Out of all the female students who faced discipline during the 2022-23 school year, Black girls made up 94% of expulsions and 92% of out-of-school suspensions, as shown in the report.
Also according to the report, the frequency of discipline actions for all students has decreased since the last two school years, as well as the percentage of students with out-of-school suspensions. The data also shows that 88% of the students who have been expelled are facing economic disadvantages.
Local Efforts to Uplift Students
District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is moving toward restorative justice practices to combat the criminalization of students and create a healthier learning environment overall.
The school district implemented restorative justice practices, such as the DCPS Becoming program, in 2021. DCPS Becoming is an $18 million initiative launched by the DC Education Fund focused on bettering the school environments or students, mentally and emotionally by redesigning DCPS policies and practices, and equipping schools and staff to deal with students facing trauma and mental health issues.
Kera Tyler, the chief of external affairs for DCPS, highlighted the importance of minimizing exclusionary discipline, especially for Black girls. She said this school year they’ve already seen a 46% decrease in out-of-school suspensions and a 63% consistent decrease throughout the past decade.
“In the past five years, we’ve been really focused on increasing engagement and belonging,” said Tyler. “We’re really trying to get at the core of not just decreasing behaviors in our students, but also training adults.
Tyler emphasized other DCPS initiatives aimed at addressing these issues, including professional development like the “Creating Belonging for All” and “Focus Black and Hispanic Girls Furthest from Opportunity” training for behavioral staff. Additionally, the We The Girls program for middle and high school girls provides a safe space for girls of color and their allies to build confidence, leadership, and community. This program includes a major spring conference at Howard University.
“We’ve seen a 5% increase in belonging for our Black girls in 6th to 12th grade,” Tyler said. “We want to… decrease the percentage of schools where less than 50% of Black students feel that sense of belonging and safety, and we want to increase the percentage of schools where 90% or more of our Black students feel that sense of belonging and safety.”