TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Educators in Kansas’ largest public school district discriminated against Black and disabled students when disciplining them, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which announced an agreement Tuesday that will have the district revising its policies.
Changes the Wichita district has agreed to include restraining unruly students less often and ending the practice of putting misbehaving students alone in rooms by Jan. 1, 2025, the DOJ said.
The district also agreed to offer counseling or tutoring to every student who was confined alone in a room during the past three schools years, with the number of hours matching those for which the student was secluded. The department said the district already is writing a new code of conduct for students and has scheduled crisis-prevention training for staff.
The agreement comes amid an ongoing national debate about classroom discipline and whether punishments for minority and disabled students are disproportionately harsh. The Justice Department has previously reached similar agreements with other school districts in the U.S.
The settlement “sends a powerful message to Kansas schools and schools across the nation to ensure that they must no longer alienate or target Black students or students with disabilities,” said Rocky Nichols, executive director of the Disability Rights Center of Kansas.
The Department of Justice said in a letter to the Wichita district’s attorney that it investigated disciplinary practices for the past three school years and visited the district in March 2023. It concluded that the district disciplined Black students more often and more severely than white students.
The DOJ also said that in the more than 3,000 times over three years that the district restrained or secluded students, 98% of those students were disabled. And it noted that hundreds of the cases involved students in kindergarten, first or second grade. More than 40 students were restrained or secluded more than 20 times each, the DOJ said.
“We substantiated allegations that the District discriminated against Black students in its administration of school discipline and referral of student conduct to law enforcement,” the department said in its letter. “We also found evidence that the District denied students with disabilities equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from its education program.”
The Wichita district has more than 46,000 students, nearly 10% of all students in Kansas. About 64% of the students are Black, Hispanic or have multiple ethnicities, according to State Department of Education figures, and the state considers nearly 78% to be at risk of failing academically.
The DOJ said the district cooperated throughout its investigation and had “expressed a desire to make positive improvements.”
“We can and must create a more equitable school district by changing some of our practices and procedures,” Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said in an online statement after the Wichita school board approved the agreement. “Safe learning communities — for students and staff — will always be of the utmost importance.”
Disability rights advocates in numerous states for years have criticized restraints and seclusion for disabled students, saying the punishments are overused and dangerous.
In 2022, Iowa’s second-largest school district promised to end the use of seclusion rooms after the Department of Justice concluded that it had violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2023, Alaska’s largest district agreed to stop secluding students and to use restraints only when there is a real risk of physical harm to the student or others.
Kansas law already dictates that restraint can be used only when there is an imminent risk that students will seriously harm themselves or others, according to Nichols.
“Wichita public schools should have been following that requirement all along,” he said.
In other states, pressure to do more about unruly students has led officials to go in a different direction.
Arkansas last year expanded its restraint law so that — in addition to teachers — other school staff can restrain students in some cases. Some states still allow corporal punishment: A southwestern Missouri district reinstituted student spanking in 2022 as a form of discipline, but only in cases where the parents agree.
In Wichita, the Department of Justice said, the difference in discipline for Black and white girls was “particularly pronounced.” At one middle school, Black girls faced being punished for insubordination 4.5 times as often as white girls and were cited for dress code violations 3.6 times as often, the DOJ letter said. Wichita schools restrained students 1,570 times over three years and put them in seclusion 1,450 times, the letter added.
“We concluded that most of the District’s restraints and all its seclusions were improper under both District policy and generally accepted practice,” the letter said.
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Rephrased content:
The U.S. Department of Justice has found that the school district in Wichita, Kansas, engaged in discriminatory practices against Black and disabled students. As a result, the district has agreed to revise its disciplinary policies, including reducing the use of restraints on unruly students and ending the practice of isolating misbehaving students by January 1, 2025. Additionally, the district will provide counseling or tutoring to students who were secluded in rooms over the past three school years, with the number of hours matching the duration of their isolation.
The agreement comes in the midst of a national discussion on classroom discipline and the disproportionate severity of punishments faced by minority and disabled students. The Justice Department has previously reached similar agreements with other school districts across the country. Disability Rights Center of Kansas Executive Director, Rocky Nichols, stated that the settlement sends a strong message to schools to ensure they do not target or alienate Black or disabled students.
The DOJ’s investigation found that Black students in the Wichita district were disciplined more frequently and severely than white students. Moreover, the department noted that over 98% of restrained or secluded students over three years were disabled, with some cases involving students as young as kindergarten. The district cooperated with the investigation and expressed a commitment to positive changes to ensure a more equitable learning environment.
Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld emphasized the district’s dedication to creating a safe and inclusive learning community for all students and staff. The use of restraints and seclusion on disabled students has been a subject of criticism among disability rights advocates in various states, leading to changes in policies in Iowa and Alaska in recent years. Pressure to address discipline issues has prompted different responses in various states, with some expanding the use of restraint laws while others, like a district in Missouri, have reintroduced corporal punishment in limited circumstances.
