ARE SUSPENSIONS AND EXPULSIONS OF BLACK STUDENTS RISING?

According to a University of Maryland study, school suspensions and expulsions, especially of Black boys, are soaring in the state with Black students now two and a-half times more likely to be kicked out of school than white students.

Lead researcher Peter Leone blasted the rising suspensions saying students who are suspended "are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system."

Meanwhile, a review of relevant news reports by Washington, D.C.-based Taylor Media Services found that the disproportionate suspension and expulsion of African American students appear to be nationwide in scope. From kindergarten to high school, suspensions have risen. A major reason is the new "zero-tolerance" programs against drugs and weapons at school. But many more students are being suspended for simply arguing with or showing "disrespect" to teachers.

Leone asked during a forum last week sponsored by the Open Society Institute in Baltimore: "When kids are suspended from school, what do you think they are doing?" He answered his own question saying "they are more likely to get in trouble." For example, a separate study of 555 teenagers in the juvenile justice system found that 85 percent had been suspended from school.