To resolve complaints being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education, the Oklahoma City district has agreed to take steps to reduce disproportionately high discipline rates for black students, the federal agency’s office for civil rights announced last week.
The voluntary agreement obligates the district to increase training for staff members about disciplinary practices and use interventions to support positive student behavior. It also must revise discipline policies, increase collection of data regarding discipline and school climate, and reduce exclusionary discipline. The district also agreed to a comprehensive review of its school resource officer program.
The district agreed to the resolution before federal officials completed an investigation into the overrepresentation of black students in disciplinary data.
