Large disparities in discipline for Black students persisted for the third year in a row in the San Francisco Unified School District, according to a new report coming out Sept. 30.
Researchers from the nonprofit Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth found during the 2023 and 2024 school years, Black students were four times more likely to face suspension or expulsion than their peers.
Brandie Bowen, policy director for the group, said total suspensions are actually down in recent years but so-called “silent suspensions” are up.
“There is definitely a trend. The students who are out of class and who are pushed into referral rooms or sent home early without it being tracked,” Bowen explained. “They’re suffering the most academically.”
The district has a public data dashboard but education activists want it to track early pickups and out-of-classroom referrals across the district and break it down by race and special education status.
The district said it is working to strengthen data systems to better track interventions, student support logs, classroom removals and Coordinated Care Team referrals. Data from the “Stop Suspending Our Success” report showed Black and Latino students make up 39% of enrollment but 68% of suspensions.
Bowen believes when students act out, they are communicating a need for counselors and teachers to offer extra support.
“If they track the off-the-book removals of students outside of class, they can see where we need to trigger support. We need a system of accountability that’s going to bring the support so that the referrals aren’t happening repeatedly,” Bowen contended.
The report found the time out of class causes significant learning loss. Data show 80% of Black students in the district are not meeting grade-level standards for English, and 90% fail to meet standards in math. The district said it is committed to interventions to address root causes before behaviors escalate to exclusionary practices.
