Professor Leah Hill was quoted in an article focusing on the Ending PUSHOUT Act, which addresses the disproportionate over-policing black girls receive in schools.
Black girls are seven times more likely to be suspended from school and four times more likely to be arrested at school compared to white girls. The Ending PUSHOUT Act was introduced on Dec. 5 by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) to address how over-policing in schools disproportionately impacts Black girls.
“Not only are our girls carrying trauma from their personal lives when they enter school, but far too many schools have become a place that criminalizes and harms girls of color,” the congresswoman said in a statement.
According to Fordham Law School professor Leah A. Hill, Black girls are over-disciplined for reasons that include their increased likeliness of attending under-resourced schools, and frequently being taught by instructors who are unprepared to handle diverse populations.
“Nationwide, black girls are far more likely than any other demographic to be disciplined in school. They are more likely to be suspended, more likely to receive corporal punishment, more likely to be physically restrained, more likely to be referred to law enforcement, more likely to be arrested, more likely to be bullied on account of race, etc.,” Hill told Supermajority News. “These facts hold in all regions of the country and in public and charter schools alike.”