Joint Statement / Guidance from USED and the Justice Department
The guidance package calls into question mandatory exclusion, especially for minor
offenses. “Examples of policies that can raise disparate impact concerns include policies that
impose mandatory suspension, expulsion, or citation upon any student who commits a
specified offense – such as being tardy to class, being in possession of a cellular phone, being
found insubordinate, acting out, or not wearing the proper school uniform.”
 The guidance package calls “Racial discrimination in school discipline” “a real
problem.” The guidance states emphatically that discriminatory school discipline is a serious
problem, and cannot be explained by more frequent or serious misbehavior by students of
color. It also affirms the existence and harms of the school-to-prison pipeline. And it
highlights new federal data showing that “Although African-American students represent 15%
of students in the CRDC [Civil Rights Data Collection], they make up 35% of students
suspended once, 44% of those suspended more than once, and 36% of students
expelled. Further, over 50% of students who were involved in school-related arrests or
referred to law enforcement are Hispanic or African-American.” (Note that this is unpublished
2011-2012 discipline data from the Civil Rights Data Collection.)
 The guidance calls for “positive interventions over student removal,” and for
discipline policies that “explicitly limit[] the use of out-of-school suspensions, expulsions and
alternative placements to the most severe disciplinary infractions that threaten school safety or
to those circumstances where mandated by Federal or State law.” In multiple places, the
guidance mentions “exclusionary disciplinary sanctions as a last resort.”
The guidance also calls for the development of “safe, inclusive, and positive school climates
that provide students with supports such as evidence-based tiered supports and social and
emotional learning.” And it specifically mentions peer mediation and restorative justice, along
with sufficient counselors, social workers, nurses, psychologists and other mental health and
supportive service providers.
 The guidance clarifies that police “should not be responsible for “routine student
discipline,” and that school resource officers are covered by the guidance. While it does not
call for a roll-back of school policing, the guidance notes that law enforcement should not be
involved in minor disciplinary matters and that schools will be liable for any discriminatory
conduct. It also notes that law enforcement and that school personnel should be trained to
“distinguish between disciplinary infractions appropriately handled by school officials versus
major threats to school safety or serious school-based criminal conduct that cannot be safely
and appropriately handled by the school’s internal disciplinary procedures.” Importantly, it
also emphasizes that schools without campus-based security should avoid involving law
enforcement or encouraging the use of law enforcement techniques (such as arrest,
citations, ticketing or court referrals) in routine disciplinary matters.
 The guidance re-affirms the Departments’ commitment to combatting racially
discriminatory discipline: We [the Departments of Education and Justice] will enforce
Federal laws to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination in school discipline. In addition to
investigating complaints that have been filed, both Departments are collaboratively and
proactively initiating compliance reviews nationwide focused on student discipline.”
The guidance is supported by a detailed, research-based document that outlines three guiding
principles which I have included below:
The document is further supported by a directory of Federal resources available to provide
alternative discipline as well as student support intervention strategies. That can be found at
this link: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/appendix-1-directory.pdf.
The joint initiative has also provided a very helpful tool to research the different statutes and
other guidance to school districts relative to discipline, alternative supports as well as truancy.
I have provided the link to the Michigan statutes and rules and find it to be very thorough;
perhaps you will also find it helpful as your team discusses your school policies and actions
related to these issues. While I have linked the Michigan information, you can also see /
compare with all 50 states using this tool: http://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/disciplinecompendium/choose-type/Michigan.
Finally, the web resources also include a very complete and thoughtful FAQ document that you
might find helpful in such a policy discussion. There is both an English and Spanish prepared
document and you can find the English version here: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/schooldiscipline/faq.pdf.
You will likely wonder, or have staff / parents ask, so what does this mean to our district? The
general tone of the documents hopes to ensure that students have the most meaningful
opportunity to engage in school activities despite discipline or behavior incidents. The guiding
principles come from the perspective of ensuring that students are not discriminated in such
policies or implementation in our school districts. It is important to remember that the Office of
Civil Rights has been much more aggressive in their audits and oversight and the law now
allows for complaint investigations with merit to have financial damages as a consequence.
In case you would like more information, here are some professional learning opportunities
available for you and staff:
Webinar: Overview of the School Discipline Guidance Package
January 15, 2014, 3:30 - 5:00 pm EST
The U.S. Department of Education (ED), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), will host a
webinar that provides an overview of the school discipline guidance package that was released today as part
of the Supportive School Discipline Webinar Series. For more information and to register, go
to http://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/events/webinar/overview-school-discipline-guidance-package.
Webinar: Civil Rights Guidance
January 29, 2014, 3:30 - 5:30 pm EST
The U.S. Department of Education (ED), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), will
provide an overview of the guidance released on how schools can meet their legal obligations under federal
civil rights law to administer student discipline without discriminating against students on the basis of race,
color or national origin. For more information and to register, go to http://www.neglecteddelinquent.org/events/school-discipline-guidance-package-title-iv-and-title-vi-civil-rights-guidance.