DOJ: Kansas’ largest school district used discriminatory discipline against Black students

By John HannaThe Associated Press 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 July 2 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 school 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.Educators in Kansas’ largest public school district discriminated against Black and disabled students when they used certain kinds of discipline, according to the U.S. Justice Department, which announced an agreement July 2, 2024, in which the district has agreed to revise its policies. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)The agreement comes amid an ongoing national debate about classroom discipline and whether punishments for minority and disabled students are...