Two days in Arlington, VA brought great news for coalition members attending the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for the Department of Education (DOE) conference,” Civil Rights and School Discipline: Addressing Disparities to Ensure Equal Educational Opportunity.”

Excitement buzzed among conference goers, who acknowledge the tremendous nature of simply attending a government-sponsored conference on this topic. The keynote speakers and presenters shared the same important message: all students deserve to be treated with dignity and fairness in schools, and the time is now to acknowledge how school discipline impacts this. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder opened Day 2 with an optimistic address.

Holder echoed much of the previous days’ discussions on school discipline and the right for all children to be treated with dignity. He underlined the connection between student experience with school discipline and the criminal justice system, noting “suspension is often the first step on the path to incarceration.” Too many of today’s most vulnerable students are “deprived of education as a form of punishment,” he continued.

He also spoke to the problem of police in schools, urging school districts to find new ways to keep students safe “without necessarily relying on law enforcement to curb minor student misconduct.” Holder pointed to restorative justice and Positive Intervention and Behavior Supports as successful alternatives.

Next up, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke via video, noting his department’s commitment to addressing “issues of access and equity” in education.

On the topic of suspensions, Duncan made the essential observation that “if students aren’t in school, they simply can’t learn.”

More to come from the field!