Trenton, NJ — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Acting Department of Education Commissioner Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan announced the release of a comprehensive guidance document aimed at preventing discrimination in school discipline across New Jersey schools.
The move is another state oversight of local public school districts in a state that is still legally a ‘home rule’ state, meaning local governments can make rules for their own local communities. Under Governor Phil Murphy, home rule doctrine is being slowly eroded by directives and executive orders.
The document was developed in collaboration between the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) and the Department of Education (DOE).
The guidance outlines how the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) applies to student discipline, focusing on protected characteristics like race, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. It is designed to assist school administrators in ensuring their disciplinary policies comply with the LAD and educates all stakeholders on protections against discrimination.
The document comes in response to the 2020 report “An Anti-Bias Vision for the Next Generation” by the Interagency Task Force to Combat Youth Bias. According to Attorney General Platkin, the guidance aims to address undeniable disparities in school discipline based on race, sexual orientation, and other protected characteristics.
Data cited in the guidance shows that Black students in New Jersey are suspended at 3.3 times the rate of white students, and Latinx/e and multi-racial students at 1.5 times the rate. Additionally, students with disabilities and LGBTQ+ students also face disproportionate disciplinary actions.
The guidance provides a roadmap for schools to identify and prevent violations of the LAD’s prohibition against disparate treatment and disparate impact. It recommends that school administrators review and potentially revise their discipline policies, collect and review disciplinary data for disparities, fully investigate allegations of bias-based behavior, and require non-discrimination training for staff responsible for disciplining students.
The newly-released guidance is part of a series of initiatives aimed at creating safer learning environments and comes after the release of other resources that tackle bias incidents in both K-12 schools and higher education.