Education Department Data Confirms School-to-Prison Pipeline Racially Disparate

The U.S. Department of Education's 2015-16 Civil Rights Data Collection, released in 2018, confirmed stark racial disparities in school discipline. Black students represented 15.5% of enrollment but 31% of in-school arrests and 36% of students referred to law enforcement. Black preschool children were 3.6 times more likely to receive out-of-school suspension than white preschool children. The data documented 'school resource officers' (police in schools) arresting students for minor infractions that previously resulted in detention. Research consistently showed harsh discipline reduced graduation rates and increased incarceration odds — a documented pipeline.