School Safety Commission's report uses tenuous logic to walk back guidance on school discipline

On Tuesday, the Federal Commission on School Safety released its report on how to prevent, mitigate, and recover from acts of violence in schools. President Trump established the commission in March, following the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. While the commission's purported mission was to improve student safety amid a series of school shootings around the country, the commission's most substantive action was to rescind a 2014 "Dear Colleague Letter" (DCL) from the Obama administration that sought to address racial disparities in student discipline. School suspension and expulsion rates differ sharply across racial and ethnic groups in United States, and many voices in education have raised concerns about harsh discipline practices toward students of color and their long-term effects. In essence, the DCL: (a) outlined federal law related to discrimination in student discipline; (b) described the investigative and enforcement authority of the departments of Education and Justice; and (c) gave recommendations on issues such as trainings for school staff, data collection, and alternative approaches to student discipline.