Content below from CBS 17. See the original piece here.

Black students in North Carolina suspended and expelled at higher rates, study shows

DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — Some central North Carolina parents received a reality check Wednesday night on discipline with Black students the state.

A study posted by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in March 2023, which analyzed suspension rates in the 2021-2022 school year, showed that North Carolina public schools suspended Black students at higher rates than their peers.

Kevin Bullock, a former educator and parent of fifth and eighth graders in Durham, said, “I wasn’t surprised. I look at the numbers regularly across Durham, the state, and the country.

“It’s concerning,” he said. “It just makes me wonder how we can better support our educators.”

The study is one of the reasons why the non-profit Empowered Parents in Community started five years ago. Program coordinator Mavreen Nanton-Scott said the non-profit is dedicated to dismantling educational inequalities in public schools for black children.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction study found that of the over 217,000 students suspended, more than 112,000, or 51%, were Black. Some of those suspensions started before elementary school.

“The study found black preschool students get suspended higher than K-12,” Nanton-Scott said.

In K-12, Nanton-Scott said Black students are four times as likely to be suspended.

Parents said there needs to be more communication between parents and teachers.

“Sometimes, there’s a divide on what’s going on at home and what’s going on at school,” Bullock said. “How can we build those relationships and better forge some solidarity between schools and homes?”

Empowered Parents in Community said Durham Public Schools is one of many districts taking parent-teacher communication seriously and adding it to their strategic plan.

Former educator Laquandra Ballen said she discovered a formula that worked. With only one suspension recorded that school year, her method was a success and a testament to the potential for positive change.

“I made sure the kids were accountable, the parents were accountable,” she said. “I held myself accountable.

“I didn’t have 10 different classroom rules,” Ballen said. “I had one in my classroom. We would all respect each other.”