Many students across the state returned to in-person instruction on March 1, but the question that remains is, “Is it safe for all students to return to in-person instruction?”

While many people are worried about student safety amid a global pandemic, Black students, specifically Black girls, returning to school campuses have to worry about unfair disciplinary practices that force more Black girls into out-of-school suspension than their white peers.

While growing up in Anson County, I witnessed Black girls miss classroom time simply for the clothing they wore. A dress code violation or “having a bad attitude” was enough to remove a Black girl from the classroom. Even as a child, I knew that Black students were suspended more often than my white classmates. I was fortunate enough to attend school every day between my first day of Kindergarten at Morven Elementary to my last day at Anson High School, but so many Black girls did not.

Fifteen years later, I see the same suspension disparities in Anson County Schools’ despite hoping that I would not find current data consistent with my childhood observations. The most recent survey data indicated that 558 Black girls were attending Anson County Schools compared to 437 white girls. During the 2017 survey, girls missed 1,617 days of school due to out-of-school suspension (OSS). A closer look reveals that Black girls accounted for 1,449, or 89.6%, of those missed days, compared to just 104 missed days for white girls due to OSS.

This disparity in OSS rate is evident in almost every elementary and secondary school in Anson County, except Ansonville Elementary and Anson County Early College. At Wadesboro Elementary, girls missed 62 days of school due to OSS. Black girls accounted for all 62 days. In middle and high schools, OSS suspension days are even higher. At Anson Middle School, Black girls missed 719 out of the 804 days all girls were out of school due to OSS. And at Anson High School, Black girls were out of the classroom for 527 of the 605 days girls of all races were suspended.

OSS may be warranted for extreme disruptions to the learning environment or to ensure the safety of other students. However, when principals punish Black girls more frequently and more harshly than their white peers, this results in the loss of in-class instructional time for Black girls, which adversely affects their grades and their ability to participate in other academic and extracurricular activities.

As Anson County School resumes in-person instruction, our community has a responsibility to protect Black girls from unfair suspension practices.

Students, parents, teachers, administrators, community members and leaders are invited to join efforts to raise awareness of these alarming statistics and voice the need for immediate change in the disciplinary practices that negatively impact the ability of Black girls to learn in safe and judgment-free schools at this month’s upcoming school board meeting.

Black girls deserve to learn. Forcing them out of the classroom in response to unwanted behavior does not address their basic needs to feel loved and supported. Suspension alternatives like restorative justice and on-site mental health support could undo the harm of both OSS and pandemic learning loss while communicating to Black girls that they are inherently deserving of educational instruction.

If your child is suspended when school resumes, contact the school board to see if your child is eligible for a hearing. If granted a hearing, be prepared to propose alternatives to OSS.

To share your experiences with unfair suspension practices, please contact me at crystal@scsj.org.

Reach Crystal Ingram at crystal@scsj.org.