Dive Brief:
- Some parents are pushing back against the discipline policies at Collegiate Academies' three New Orleans charter schools, arguing in a formal civil rights complaint that the school's punishments are far too "harsh and punitive".
- While the high schools run by Collegiate Academies have some of the highest test scores in the city, its zero tolerance environment has resulted in it having the highest suspension rates in the state.
- Complicating the debate over the school's discipline policies is the fact that the civil rights complaint — which makes incredibly audacious accusations, including a teacher encouraging students to throw paper at an autistic student after saying he was "stupid" — lacks any names, making it difficult to fact check.
Dive Insight:
Collegiate Academies' discipline policies are complicated. The idea behind seems to be one about raising expectations — not just with academics, but with behavior. The goal of many of these schools is to reduce the numbers in the school-to-prison pipeline by molding students to be model citizens. This goal can, however, become muddled when many of the zero-tolerance schools begin to take on attributes and qualities of prisons through punishments that have been described as "too harsh."
As families in the civil rights complaint argued, too many students were being removed from the classroom for "very minor infractions, such as speaking disrespectfully to a teacher," according to The Advocate. Similar "zero-tolerance" policies were discussed earlier this year by Education Secretary Arne Duncan in light of the studies that report African-American students are far more likely to be suspended than their white counterparts. Duncan pushed back against policies that “make students feel unwelcome in their own schools.”
Not everyone is buying the civil rights suit, however. According to Caroline Roemer Shirley, head of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, the suit feels more like a PR move. “Frankly, I think it’s nonsense. I think it’s a certain set of folks who are angry that they are not the decision-makers, and I think they’re stirring up trouble," she told The Advocate.
