New Data show CA school administrators dramatically increased disciplinary exclusion of homeless youth to highest rate in 6 years
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contacts:
Dan Losen, National Center for Youth Law: dlosen@youthlaw.org
Willis Jacobson, National Center for Youth Law: wjacobson@youthlaw.org
Jan. 8, 2024
New Data show California school administrators dramatically increased disciplinary exclusion of homeless youth to the highest rate in 6 years
LOS ANGELES — All California students deserve an engaging education that supports and prepares them for college, career, and life beyond school. Research does not support the long-standing practice of kicking students out of school for minor misconduct. Unfortunately, after years of declining rates, alarming new data — included in a Jan. 2024 update to the Lost Instruction Report released in Oct. 2023 — shows that school administrators are increasingly denying students who are homeless access to school.
The highest rates in 2023 show Black and Native American Homeless youth, experienced a dramatic increase in rates of lost instruction due to out of school suspensions. While some may have access to shelters, in many cases these children are literally being kicked to the curb.
Specifically, Black homeless youth are losing an average of 90 school days per 100 enrolled students due to disciplinary removals in 2023, an increase of 21 days from 69 the year before (as reported in our Lost Instruction Report). Native American homeless youth lost 75 days per 100 enrolled — an increase of 17 days from the rate of 58 in 2022. These rates of lost instruction are 7 to 10 times higher than the state average for all students, which also increased in 2023.
These troubling trends are the latest findings revealed through research conducted by Ramon Flores of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA and Dan Losen, Director of Education at the National Center for Youth Law. They jointly released the statewide Lost Instruction Report in October 2023, before the newest data on discipline were released. The complete update of the statewide rates for 2023 covers every racial/ethnic group, and students with disabilities.
This update is being released now to encourage the California Department of Education to resolve to take action in 2024. These high and increasing rates mean that the students with the greatest needs are also losing the most instructional time and increasing their risk for dropping out of school.
“CDE needs to seriously increase their oversight of districts that are failing to meet the needs of youth of color, especially those who arrive at school from unstable home environments,” said Flores, with UCLA.
Added Losen, who is both a researcher and lawyer: “The higher rates likely reflect unjustifiable resource cuts, and/or maintaining unjustifiable discipline policies amidst an increase in the needs of students. Moreover, districts that cause high and racially disproportionate harm to homeless youth, foster youth, and students with disabilities are likely violating the civil rights of these students.”
Figure 1. Statewide Trends of Lost Instruction Rates for Homeless Youth, by Race/Ethnicity
This graph reveals a change in the downward state trend we reported through the year 2022. This update shows that for homeless youth in California, in addition to the dramatic increases for Black and Native America homeless youth noted at the outset, the rates for White homeless youth also experienced a large increase, and they also are experiencing the highest rate of lost instruction in six years. Each of the other groups of students showed a rate increase over those we calculated for 2022, but their rate in 2023 was not the highest it has been in the last six years.
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The Civil Rights Project at UCLA (CRP) was founded 26 years ago at Harvard. It is co-directed by Professors Gary Orfield and Patricia Gándara and based at UCLA. Its mission is to create a new generation of research in social science and law on the critical issues of civil rights and equal opportunity for racial and ethnic groups in the United States. It has monitored the success of American schools in equalizing opportunity and has been the authoritative source of segregation statistics. CRP has commissioned more than 400 studies, published more than 20 books and issued numerous reports from authors at universities and research centers across the country. The U.S. Supreme Court, in its 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger decision upholding affirmative action and in Justice Breyer’s dissent (joined by three other Justices) to its 2007 Parents Involved decision, cited the Civil Rights Project’s research. In June 2023 Justice Sotomayor cited CRP’s research in her dissent to the court’s decision banning affirmative action in SFFA v Harvard College.
The National Center for Youth Law centers youth through research, community collaboration, impact litigation, and policy advocacy that fundamentally transforms our nation's approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice. Our vision is a world in which every child thrives and has a full and fair opportunity to achieve the future they envision for themselves. For more information, visit www.youthlaw.org.
