Parsing the Black-White School Suspension Gap

[mzteris]

8. Yes and no.

While I agree that poverty plays a huge role in some of the behaviour and perceptions, race is still a large part of the problem.

A poor white kid is treated "better" than a poor black or hispanic kid.

A middle class black kid is treated differently from the middle class white kids.

There IS disparate treatment based solely on race. Not economic conditions. Teacher expectations, detentions, suspensions, grading, tolerance for certain behaviours, consequences doled out differently for the same infractions.