Why do Black students with disabilities — who represent 19% of students with disabilities overall — make up nearly 36% of students with disabilities who are suspended from school?1 The answer: zero-tolerance policies.
Black students who have disabilities that affect learning, behavior, and functioning — like ADHD — are more likely to be subject to harsh, punitive measures like suspension, expulsion, and arrest for misbehavior regardless of circumstance.
These zero-tolerance policies — against a backdrop of racial bias and increased police presence in schools — create the perfect storm, driving these students directly into the school-to-prison pipeline.Racial attitudes heavily influence how teachers perceive student behavior and, thus, who is subject to disciplinary action.
In one study, white teachers with more negative racial attitudes toward Black people gave higher ADHD behavior and likelihood ratings to Black boys than did teachers with less negative racial attitudes.2 In other words, internal bias caused teachers to over-identify behavioral problems in Black children.