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Report on racial inequality in City Schools of Decatur will be discussed at School Board meeting

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Report on racial inequality in City Schools of Decatur will be discussed at School Board meeting

Decatur's Beacon Hill Black Alliance held a forum at City Schools of Decatur's Central Office on Feb. 8., 2017. Photo by Dan Whisenhunt
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Decatur’s Beacon Hill Branch of the NAACP held a forum at City Schools of Decatur’s Central Office on Feb. 8., 2017. Photo by Dan Whisenhunt

The firm Thomas P. Miller and Associates has completed its study about racial inequality in City Schools of Decatur.

It is a report that largely expands upon the school district’s initial conclusions: that black students are more likely to be disciplined than their white peers.

“I don’t think there was anything in there surprising, based on all the conversations we’ve been having and the anecdotal stories we hear,” Superintendent David Dude said. “It’s all still very disappointing that we have these gaps, but it’s nice to have a report like this for us to build off of.”

The School Board will discuss the report at its meeting on June 12, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at 125 Electric Avenue Decatur, GA 30030. All meetings are open to the public. Dude said school officials may also present a draft of an action plan based on the report’s conclusions.

The study found that more than 60 percent of all behavioral incidents involved black or African American students, while whites only accounted for 26.5 percent to 32.1 percent of behavioral incidents. Black students account for 21 percent of the overall student population while white students account for 64 percent.

“Black or African American students were also receiving different types of resolutions for the same behavioral incident in some cases,” the report found. “For example, in 2016-2017, 20.5 percent of Black or African American students with a disorderly conduct incident received an out of school suspension, while only 2.1 percent of White students committing the same incident received an out of school suspension. White students committing the same incident were most likely to receive a lunch detention (29.2 percent).”

The firm took a look at excused and unexcused absences.

“Across the three academic years, White students were more likely than Black or African American students to have excused absences, while Black or African American students were more likely to have unexcused absences,” the report says.

White students were also less likely to be penalized for being late to class.

The study says, “White students were twice as likely to not have any tardies during a full academic year compared to Black or African American students.”

To read a copy of the study that will be presented at Tuesday’s meeting, click here.

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