A new executive order by President Trump aims to undo school discipline guidance issued by the Obama and Biden administrations that sought to combat discriminatory actions against students of color.
The guidance issued by the Democratic administrations was based on concerns that racism was prevalent in school discipline as Black students were disciplined at much higher rates than their peers. Trump’s directive, issued Wednesday, orders his education secretary to overturn that guidance, with the president saying his executive order will remove racial bias from schools.
The move was lauded by supporters who said the race-neutral discipline envisioned by the order is a common sense step to ensure all students are treated equally. However, it drew sharp criticism from social justice advocates who warned it would harm vulnerable students.
The order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to issue new guidance in place of President Joe Biden’s, which had said schools that unfairly discipline students could be violating civil rights law and lose federal funds.
The 2014 Obama policy, which later was rescinded by Trump, was based on the theory of “disparate impact,” the idea a policy could violate federal law just by disproportionately affecting one race or ethnic group, even if the policy is facially neutral and evenly applied.
In the decade since, school discipline rates in Massachusetts have gone down for all racial and ethnic groups, and gaps have narrowed among the groups. Biden’s recommendations were less sweeping than President Barack Obama’s, but the declining discipline rate continued here.
Trump’s order describes the Obama policy as requiring schools to discriminate based on race and orders McMahon to take action against states and districts that racially discriminate. The Trump administration also said in a fact sheet the Obama-Biden approach “makes schools less safe.”
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety — encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”
The order also seems to take issue with data collection encouraged under Biden.
Concerns about student behavior and school safety rose in the wake of the pandemic, although hard data are difficult to come by.
Nadia Romanazzi, a spokesperson for the social justice-focused Massachusetts Appleseed Center, said her center finds the policies concerning and wants the state to step up.
“There is significant research and data that show that there are large discipline disparities between students of color and their white counterparts, and that these disparities are not necessarily a result of difference in actual behaviors, but rather a difference in the enforcement mechanisms of the discipline policies,” Romanazzi said.
For example, she said, the Appleseed Center has found that Black girls are more likely to be targeted for dress code violations.
Video below