[hr-education-na] Degrading treatment and abusive discipline in NY and LA public schools

Findings Show Many Students Face Discrimination, Excessive Suspensions and
Destructive Police Presence that Threaten their Dignity and Right to
Education

NEW YORK, March 21, 2007 -- Middle and high school students in New York
City (NYC) and Los Angeles (LA) are frequently ignored and mistreated in
their classrooms, and subjected to harsh discipline policies that punish,
exclude and criminalize them, according to a report by the National
Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI).

The report, "Deprived of Dignity: Degrading Treatment and Abusive
Discipline in New York City and Los Angeles Public Schools," uses a human
rights framework to document mistreatment toward students, and the use of
suspensions, law enforcement and other punitive disciplinary strategies
that ignore students' educational and emotional needs. Schools with the
most repressive policies are overwhelmingly under-resourced, overcrowded
and primarily attended by low-income students of color, the report shows.

Elizabeth Sullivan, Education Program Director at NESRI and author of the
report, said: "In NYC, as Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein propose yet
another re-organization of the school system, this report makes clear that
any effort to improve the schools cannot succeed until there is an end to
human rights violations taking place related to the mistreatment and
exclusion of students."

A range of community-based organizations collaborated to collect
testimonies for this report, including Make the Road by Walking, UPROSE
and Sistas on the Rise in NYC. Based on interviews and focus groups with
over 80 students, parents and teachers, the report found that in NYC and
LA:

- Students report that they are mistreated, ignored and discouraged
in the classroom. Half of the students interviewed stated that their
teachers sometimes or most of the time say things that humiliate or
insult them, such as calling them stupid or ugly, or telling them
they "belong in the ghetto," and one third said their teachers rarely
or never help them with their problems. 
- Schools impose lengthy and repeated suspensions for minor
infractions, including being late to school, getting into arguments
with students, or even giving a teacher "a look," that add up to
significant educational losses and push students out of school. In
NYC Impact Schools in 2004, after harsher zero-tolerance policies
were implemented, suspensions rose in one year by an average of 22
percent. 
- Over half of students interviewed in NYC and LA said guidance
counselors are rarely or never involved when they are disciplined,
while two thirds said police were involved sometimes, most or all of
the time. 
- Two thirds of students reported they never, rarely or only
sometimes feel safe with the presence of police, while one third felt
threatened, many referring to the sight of loaded guns. Students
reported that police 
have used excessive force, including "slamming" students against
walls and to the ground. 
- Teachers and students reported that police have humiliated,
handcuffed and removed students in their classrooms. Teachers
complained about losing input into disciplinary decisions and the
discretion to help individual students with problems. 

Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at CUNY Graduate
Center said of the report, "This significant report documents painfully a
bi-coastal pattern of shaming, degradation and marginalization of
students, educators and parents. Such practices are tearing at the heart
of public education. This report is a call to action against the
criminalization of urban youth. Young people in city schools yearn to be
educated, not incarcerated. We can not continue to betray them."

"Deprived of Dignity" proposes a human rights framework as an approach to
reforming discipline and improving school climate. The Convention on the
Rights of the Child, an important human rights treaty that is widely
adopted throughout the world, recognizes discipline as part of an
educational process to develop the social skills of students, encourage
learning, increase school attendance, and protect the dignity and safety
of the child.

Benjamin Tucker, former Chief Executive in the Office of School Safety and
Planning in NYC said in the report, "You need to look at the entire school
environment -- adding a few police officers and removing problem students
doesn't fix safety problems in a school in the long-run." Mr. Tucker said
that improving school facilities and leadership was necessary "to look for
solutions to prevent problems rather than just reacting to them."

On February 27, the Los Angeles Board of Education passed a new discipline
policy aimed at reducing suspensions by creating positive behavior support
systems to encourage a respectful and productive school environment.
Elizabeth Sullivan said, "The new LA policy represents a positive step
toward protecting the right to education for students. We urge New York
City public schools to take a similar step and hope for an end to the use
of excessive suspensions and the misuse of law enforcement in both school
districts."

There is a growing human rights movement in New York City, with key
organizations heading up legislative measures to address issues of city
government accountability and discrimination. All of these actions point
to the need for the city to adhere to the higher standard of international
human rights law for all New Yorkers.

NESRI calls on the LA Board of Education and NYC Chancellor Joel
Klein and Mayor Michael Bloomberg to: 
- Implement whole school approaches to creating welcoming school
environments, including reducing class size, improving school
facilities, and providing more guidance resources for students. 
- Prioritize counseling and preventive services in disciplinary
policies, and reduce the use suspensions and other exclusionary
measures. 
- Remove armed police officers from schools and make them accountable
to educators, as well as establish special guidelines and better
training for school safety officers with the participation of
students and parents. 
- Expand training and resources for school staff in behavior
management and mediation, and create guidelines and enforcement
policies for staff behavior, such as having advocates available to
students. 
- Increase student participation both in developing and implementing
discipline and safety policies and in disciplinary processes, such as
peer mediation programs, peer juries, and peer mentoring. 
- Ensure parent participation in disciplinary decisions affecting
their children and in developing policy. 

The National Economic and Social Rights Initiative is a non-profit
organization that works with organizers, policy advocates and legal
organizations to promote human rights in the United States. The
organization is funded by private foundations and individual donors.

For Immediate Release 
Contact: Elizabeth Sullivan, Program Director, National Economic and 
Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) 
Phone: 646-342-0541 * Fax: 212.385.6124 * http://www.nesri.org 





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