After previously saying it would wait until the new year to publicly address unbalanced discipline rates, Vancouver Public Schools on Thursday announced it will form a work group with organizations representing people of color and families of students with disabilities.
The school district was slapped this year with a report from the state Attorney General’s Office that found some groups of students of color and disabled students are suspended or expelled at higher rates than their white and nondisabled peers.
The report also found that the district failed to review its disciplinary practices to determine whether the inequities were a result of discrimination.
In response, the district announced the formation of a steering committee to discuss the findings, including members from Vancouver’s NAACP and the Southwest Washington League of United Latin American Citizens. The district also plans to invite members from the Native American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander and special education communities.
“We welcome working with our community partners and families as we address this complex challenge that affects not only our district, but school districts and communities throughout our state and nation,” Superintendent Steve Webb said in the news release.
The group will hold its first meeting in December, then meet in January with Daniel Losen, a consultant the district hired to review the disparities. From there, the district will launch smaller work groups made up of district staff, parents and others to focus on specific topics of Losen’s findings. The findings will be presented to the school board in May.
Assistant Superintendent Mike Stromme said he “thought it would be prudent” to start the work before the release of the consultant’s initial report, which is due in January. That’s a step back from the district’s initial stance that it would wait until after Losen’s report was filed to start working with the community.
The district will pay Losen, director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA, $150,000 over the next three years.
The district approved the contract with him behind closed doors, saying its policy is discuss contracts of more than $50,000 in public. Public records show the initial payment to Lossen for the 2019-2020 school year is $49,999.99.
Representatives from the NAACP and LULAC say they’re pleased with the steps the district is taking to include them. The two organizations submitted a joint letter to the district on Nov. 1, urging the district to involve members of the “impacted community” moving forward.
“If the impacted community is not involved in determining the resolution to a problem, the resolution will likely be unsuccessful,” the organizations wrote.
Hector Hinojosa, president of the local LULAC chapter, said he was glad to learn of the school district’s intention to work with the organization.
“I think there are good folks that are trying to make it work and trying to make it right,” Hinojosa said. “I’m glad they’ll be reaching out.”
Lynn Marzette, chair of the NAACP legal redress committee, called the steering committee “a step in the right direction.”
“It’s not going to be a short project for the school district,” Marzette said. “It’s going to have to be a new approach integrated into their culture. I’m looking forward to it.”
Katie Gillespie: 360-735-4517; katie.gillespie@columbian.com; twitter.com/newsladykatie
