Minneapolis Schools Make It Harder to Suspend Minorities

Responding to reports that showed non-white students were 10 times more likely to be suspended from school as whites, the Minneapolis public school system has announced a new policy for the district: you can’t suspend any student of color without approval from the superintendent. The new policy is being pushed by the superintendent herself, Bernadeia Johnson, a black woman who believes that the current suspension trends need to be “disrupted.”

Johnson claims that non-white students are being suspended for offenses that resulted in weaker punishments for white students. She feels that the new policy will bring some much-needed changes to the district, aiding her in the goal of closing the achievement gap by 2020. Schools will not have to consult district administrators before suspending students for violent offenses.

The change in policy is only being partially implemented out of free will. The district has been under intense scrutiny by the Department of Education for the out-of-balance suspension rates, and the new policy is meant to be part of a broader settlement with the federal government. This settlement also calls for reduced police presence in area schools and a moratorium on kindergarten and first grade suspensions altogether.

Of Course It’s Racism, What Else Would It Be?

What a surprise that a policy like this would come from recommendations made by the Obama Administration. I’m stunned that Eric Holder himself didn’t find a way to throw his two cents into the investigation. And how shocking that liberals would once again choose to emphasize racial divisions in order to solve a problem. They drag out the same game plan every time they’re asked to meet a difficult challenge: if we perceive unfairness, then we have to change the rules for minorities.

According to the stats, the Minneapolis student population is 70% non-white. With this new policy, the 30% white minority will not receive equal protection from unfair suspensions. How does this solve the problem? How do you eliminate racism by making it an inextricable part of the law? Blacks are arrested at a much higher rate than whites as well. Should we make each black arrest subject to a panel review while allowing whites to go straight to jail? This is ludicrous nonsense that has no business being implemented.

The solution is so simple, it takes a willful ignorance to miss it. Simply make suspension reviews mandatory for every student, regardless of their skin color. The object, after all, should not be to reduce the number of suspensions, even though that’s exactly what Johnson wants it to be. It should be to make sure that each suspension is justified. Why shouldn’t white students get that same assurance? Could it be that Johnson, the DoE, and the Minneapolis School District is afraid that suspension numbers would stay uncomfortably lopsided if reviews were implemented across the board? Nah, that couldn’t be it…