04 Aug 2021 Biden’s School Discipline Idea Could Brand Teachers as Racists

Project 21 Says “Everybody Suffers” Under “Racial Quotas” for Misbehavior

Washington, D.C. – With the Biden Administration exploring a racial disparate-impact analysis of school discipline statistics, the leaders of the Project 21 black leadership network said this would set up a system of “racial quotas” of punishment in which “everybody suffers.”

In a public comment submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, the three co-chairmen of Project 21 wrote:

Teachers shouldn’t be judged by statistics. Students deserve better classroom environments. That’s why the disparate-impact domination of discipline deserves a failing grade.

Council Nedd, Stacy Washington and Horace Cooper

It was explained that enforcing alleged equity through statistical analysis would create a situation in which teachers unions – key members of the president’s political base – would be put in an awkward position of defending teachers accused of being racist due to their disciplinary actions when they are just trying to do their jobs:

This standard puts teachers in a tenuous position. While American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten may publicly support a social justice agenda embracing critical race theory, she must also have the backs of members who will be judged by metrics to make them out to be vicious racists. Yet a union’s first obligation is supposed to be protecting dues-paying members.

“Under this proposal,” the trio continued, “discipline means disparity, and disparity means discrimination. And that’s what teachers and administrators will seek to avoid.”

The potential new policy is similar to guidelines introduced during the Obama-Biden Administration that were later rescinded during the Trump Administration. Noting that Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos reported that these rules caused “statistics [to] become more important than the safety of students and teachers,” the Project 21 leaders asked: “Why are the Biden-Harris rules expected to fare any better?”

To read the entire Project 21 comment submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, click here.

To schedule an interview with a member of Project 21 on this or other issues, contact Judy Kent at (703) 477-7476.

Project 21, a leading voice of black conservatives for over 25 years, is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research. Its members have been quoted, interviewed or published over 40,000 times since the program was created in 1992. Contributions to the National Center are tax-deductible and greatly appreciated, and may be earmarked exclusively for the use of Project 21.

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