When the coronavirus pushed school online, discipline went with it. Educators have been handing out Zoom suspensions and other remote consequences to keep the virtual class a safe and respectful learning environment. And for those kids who are back in the actual classroom, there are new rules about masks, even about coughing and sneezing.

Some experts worry these types of disciplines will have a disproportionate impact on students of color. Before the pandemic, Black students were three times more likely to be suspended or expelled than white students. Overall, Black, Hispanic, and Native children are punished more harshly than white children for similar school infractions.

Host Trymaine Lee talks about these concerns with Adaku Onyeka-Crawford, the Director of Educational Equity at the National Women’s Law Center, where she studies discipline in schools and works with educators to come up with better solutions.

For a transcript, please visit https://www.msnbc.com/intoamerica.

Further Readings

• ‘And They Cared,’ a report co-written by Adaku Onyeka-Crawford on creating safe learning environments for girls of color
• ‘Dress Coded,’ a report co-written by Adaku Onyeka-Crawford on how dress codes unfairly target Black girls