Recent data from Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has revealed that nearly 24,000 students were suspended during the last school year, with a significant 78 percent of those suspensions involving Black students. While some have pointed to these figures as evidence of systemic racial bias within the disciplinary system, others argue that the numbers reflect the behavioral challenges within the student population rather than discriminatory practices.

Milwaukee Public Schools is a district where just under 50 percent of the 67,495 students are Black, yet they account for the vast majority of suspensions. White students, who make up 9 percent of the student body, were only 3 percent of those suspended. Approximately 14 percent of the students suspended last year were Hispanic, even though Hispanic students represent about 28 percent of the district’s total enrollment.

This stark disparity has led to calls for a reexamination of disciplinary policies, with some advocating for changes that would align suspension rates more closely with the racial makeup of the student population.

However, critics correctly point out that if this approach argue that basing suspension policies on racial quotas rather than on student behavior is misguided and could undermine the learning environment. Suspension, they contend, is a tool designed to address disruptive and harmful behavior in the classroom. To reduce suspensions based on racial demographics rather than the actions that lead to those suspensions could allow disruptive students to remain in the classroom, negatively impacting the educational experience of their peers.

Jon Jagemann, MPS district’s discipline manager, acknowledged that while the suspension rate for Black students has decreased slightly—from 80 percent in previous years to 78 percent—this reduction is insufficient. MPS School Board Member, Henry Leonard has called for the district to move away from suspensions and take a restorative justice approach. 

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) has consistently studied this issue of suspensions and MPS and argues that federal interventions, which mandate race-based suspension thresholds, risk creating unconstitutional racial quotas in schools. WILL’s research suggests that such policies could lead to lowered standards for student behavior, ultimately harming the students they are intended to protect- like those who behave in school and go to school to learn.

WILL’s study found and confirmed the following:

If school districts adopt policies that establish quotas for discipline, it can result in insufficiently addressing the behavior of students who would otherwise face necessary disciplinary actions. This lack of discipline creates two significant issues. First, teachers may struggle to maintain control in their classrooms. Surveys of educators nationwide indicate that teachers in districts with more lenient discipline policies, which avoid suspensions and expulsions, generally believe these approaches are ineffective (Eden 2017). The resulting classroom disorder is linked to poorer academic outcomes across schools (Flanders and Goodnow 2018). Second, when students aren’t disciplined as needed, it prevents the creation of a record for specific behaviors. This lack of documentation reduces the chances of identifying and diagnosing genuine emotional or behavioral disabilities, making it more difficult for future teachers to manage and support these students effectively.