March 15, 2014

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Norman Black, The Hatcher Group, 301-656-0348

The Discipline Disparities Research-to-Practice Collaborative, Congressional Black Caucus Education and Labor Task Force, and Senator Christopher Murphy presented, “Eliminating Disparities in School Discipline: What Works,” a policy briefing on Thursday, March 13, 2014 in Washington, DC. This briefing highlighted the results of nearly three years of work by a collaborative of 26 national experts on disparities in school discipline.  Findings from the most recent research were combined with a summary of practical evidence gleaned from extensive work with policymakers and practitioners across the country.  During the session, summary briefing papers were released along with recommendations for reducing or eliminating the profound disparities in exclusionary discipline experienced by historically disadvantaged groups.  This work represented the most comprehensive compilation and analysis of American research on exclusionary discipline ever attempted. See the agenda below.

BRIEFING AGENDA

Welcome: Russell Skiba, Indiana University, and Kavitha Mediratta, Atlantic Philanthropies

Presentation of Key Findings

• Framing the Issues: Tanya Coke, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York
• Effective Interventions: Anne Gregory, Rutgers University
• New Research & Data on Black Student Behavior: Karega Rausch, Indiana University
• Policy Implications: Daniel Losen, UCLA’s Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the Civil Rights Project, & Leticia Smith-Evans, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund

Respondents

• Jennifer Bellamy, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• James Ferg-Cadima, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
• Lara Kaufmann, National Women’s Law Center (NWLC)

Senator Chris Murphy, Representatives Chaka Fattah & Bobby Scott also addressed the audience.

NOTE:  A book that grew from this research, Inequality in School Discipline:  Research and Practice to Reduce Disparities, was targeted to teachers and schools and can be accessed via the Atlantic Philanthropies site. To read more about the Research-to-Practice Collaborative, its research, publications and resources, see the Indiana Disproportionality Resource Center (formerly the Equity Project).  Finally, many important studies by the CRP’s Center for Civil Rights Remedies, led by Daniel Losen, can be accessed on this site by searching “school discipline.”

 

About the Discipline Disparities Research-to-Practice Collaborative

The Discipline Disparities Collaborative is a national initiative comprised of researchers, educators, advocates and policy analysts who have come together to address disparities in school discipline by race, gender and sexual orientation.  The Collaborative, sponsored by the Atlantic Philanthropies and Open Society Foundations and led by the Equity Project at Indiana University and UCLA’s Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the Civil Rights Project, has spent three years meeting with key stakeholders throughout the nation to advance research, policy and practice in addressing disciplinary disparities.

Collaborative Members

James Bell, Founder and Executive Director, W. Hayward Burns Institute

Judith Browne-Dianis, Co-Director, Advancement Project

Prudence Carter, Professor, Stanford University

Christopher Chatmon, Executive Director of African American Male Achievement, Oakland Unified School District

Tanya Coke, Distinguished Lecturer, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Matt Cregor, Staff Attorney, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice

Manuel Criollo, Director of Organizing, The Labor/Community Strategy Center

James Eichner, Managing Director of Programs, Advancement Project

Edward Fergus, Assistant Professor, New York University

Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor, City University of New York (CUNY)

Phillip Atiba Goff, Assistant Professor, University of California, Los Angeles

Paul Goren, Senior Vice President, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning

Anne Gregory, Associate Professor, Rutgers University

Damon Hewitt, Senior Advisor, U.S. Programs Open Society Foundations

Daniel Losen, Director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies, The Civil Rights Project at UCLA

Tammy Bang Luu, Associate Director, The Labor/Community Strategy Center

Kavitha Mediratta, Children and Youth Programme Executive, Atlantic Philanthropies

Pedro Noguera, Executive Director, The Metropolitan Center for Urban Education

Blake Norton, Division Director, Local Government Initiatives, Council of State Governments Justice Center

Mica Pollock, Director, Center for Research on Equity, Assessment, and Teaching Excellence at UCSD

Stephen Russell, Distinguished Professor, University of Arizona

Russell Skiba, Director, The Equity Project at Indiana University

Leticia Smith-Evans, Interim Director, Education Practice, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Lisa Thomas, Associate Director, American Federation of Teachers

Michael Thompson, Director, Council of State Governments Justice Center

Ivory Toldson, Deputy Director, The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges & Universities