Policing the Schools: Minority Students More Likely to Be Suspended or Arrested

An NBC News I-Team Special Investigation 

By Pei-Sze Cheng and David Manney

Araceli Quintero says she was trying to be a peacemaker in her New York high school last year when trouble erupted.

“I was basically trying to help my friend and another girl at school to not fight, because I didn’t want my friend to get suspended,” she told the I-Team.

But when the 18-year-old’s attempts failed, a brawl broke out and she was caught up in the fight. That triggered a 60-day suspension, and a temporary transfer to an alternative school.

Araceli told her story at Make the Road New York, a non-profit group that mentors minority students who have run into trouble at school.

“Predominantly young people of color are the ones who are being suspended,” said Adilka Pimentel, Youth Police Accountability Organizer for Make the Road.

Kesi Foster, a coordinator with another non-profit, the Urban Youth Collaborative, said he sees the same thing with students being arrested.

“There’s still a system that’s very much in place that’s criminalizing their behavior,” he said. “And it has almost intentionally replaced guidance counselors, social workers and supportive help – with prosecutors, police officers and judges.”

The I-Team found minority students are indeed more likely than other students to be suspended or arrested. Along with the NBC News Investigative Unit and the NBC-owned stations, the I-Team analyzed data collected from all public schools in the nation by the U.S. Department of Education.

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