(uplifting music)
- I want to talk about zero tolerance for a moment,
because it says zero tolerance.
How do you see this helping zero tolerance in schools?
Now remember, disproportionality means
at this place in time in Texas,
an African-American male is three times more likely
to be suspended than anybody else in the entire school,
white, black, or whatever, not black, but Hispanic.
So if that's the case,
and if he's special education or special needs,
he's three and a half times more likely to be suspended.
So the disproportionality comes into play
because if you look at his white counterpart,
his Hispanic counterpart, his Asian counterpart,
he triples their numbers for being suspended.
This came along at a great time
because in order to slow down, reduce suspensions,
we build relationships in place of those.
Instead of boy, you have that pencil gone again?
I told you to bring a pencil, get out.
Number one, come back the next day.
You don't have your book open?
Every time I look up, you're not looking at,
get out, number two.
I told you to stop talking.
You talk again, you're going to get out of here.
Get out.
Three times and from that same teacher in a week.
Now, he goes to the principal's office.
We're asking the principals and the teachers to step back,
take a deep breath,
and understand that those children came there
with maybe some issues.
For instance, I know for a fact one student came to class
without his materials because every day he has
to get up and get his siblings ready.
His parents are not doing that.
He's the adult.
So by the time he gets to that classroom,
he doesn't have time to think about that pencil.
He was saying, get your shoe on.
He's coming to school anyway.
We're saying, try to develop relationships
with your students and understand they come
with some issues.
And they're not all solved right at that moment.
And they're not always doing this intentionally
to make you mad.
So at this point,
we're going to pass the talking piece and ask,
how can this help zero tolerance in schools?
I just gave you a little bit of a background,
so this should help you out a lot.
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