Anthony Ratnaraj
Murphy News Service
Towanna Williams’ son Malik, 12, was suspended from Plymouth Middle School three times for hitting last year.
“I should not have to wipe away the tears from my son telling him that nothing wrong,” Williams said.
Williams joined other parents, educators, and religious leaders to bring attention to Minnesota’s mass suspension problem of minority students, who receive more suspension than their white counterparts, at the Minnesota State Capitol last March 6.
ISAIAH, a faith-based organization that works toward racial and economic equity in the state, has organized a campaign to urge lawmakers and school administrators to end school suspension on all non-violent offenses immediately. Advocates against school suspension for non-violent offenses are asking the state to adopt the U.S federal guidelines on school disciplines, recognize the school suspension problem, and remove police officers from schools.
As a single mother of two mentally ill children, she’s struggling to help her son, who has already attended five schools. Malik was diagnosed with impulsive disorder. Williams said her son’s school understands that he has a disability problem.
“But, they don’t give advice on what to do and to help. They always go to the suspension or have him leave the school,” Williams said.
“Towanna is not alone. I have heard from many parents, whose children have been diagnosed with special needs, who are being criminalized,” said Nekima Levy-Pounds, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.
Minnesota public schools took disciplinary actions against 49,609 students during the school year of 2011-2012, according to Minnesota Department of Education’s 2013 report to the state Legislature. About 41.5 percent of African American students, who represent 10.2 student population in the state, were either suspended or expelled from public schools, the report said.
“They’re being criminalized and penalized because of unreconciled racial history in this state and in this nation,” Levy-Pounds said.
“It’s unacceptable that one in four black children within the Minneapolis public school system are being suspended each year,” Levy-Pounds said. She said that suspension as a disciplinary tool is criminalizing minority and special needs students in the state.
Lyndel Owens, a teacher, shared a story about a 9-year-old student was repeatedly targeted and suspended for his behavior.
“In truth, his behavior was not different from his peers, though his race was,” Owens said. She said educators should provide a good environment for students to learn, “even if they look different or act different.”
Josh Collins, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Education, said that the state is “fairly engaged” in implementing similar guidelines to the federal guidelines to discipline students.
Collins also said the department is working with school districts to help them understand that the disproportionate suspension of minority and special needs students is a problem.
African American faith leaders and parents said school should be a safe learning environment for children. They said the public school system is turning blacks into criminals by employing police officers at schools.
“Our system’s overreliance on suspension and the involvement of the police in the classroom are combining forces too many of our children out of the school and into the police custody,” said Rev. Jeff Martin, the president of NAACP’s St. Paul branch.
Williams said she has taught her son how to behave when a police officer approach him because “he don’t get shot,” if he acted the right way.
“Too often and too frequently we’ve been locking them up instead of training the up. We need to reverse that,” said Rev. Paul Slack, a pastor at New Creation Church in Minneapolis and president of ISAIAH. Slack said school need more school councilors, not police officers.
Williams said she is working with her son’s school administrators to find a better classroom setting, so “he doesn’t pick up bad behaviors.”
Anthony Ratnaraj is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.