News Update

Community activists want Elk Grove district to work on lowering Black suspension rates

Community activists are demanding change at Elk Grove Unified, which had the highest suspension rates of Black students in California in 2019, according to a survey released by the Black Minds Matter Coalition.

Loreen Pryor, CEO of the Black Youth Leadership Project, has three binders full of complaints from families who say their children have been unfairly disciplined, according to the Sacramento Bee. Many of the families are from Elk Grove.

The school district has addressed the high rate of suspensions of Black students by making changes to the dress code, the district’s zero-tolerance policy and evaluating the role of police on campuses, said Xanthi Soriano, district spokeswoman in the article.

In a recent case a Black girl and three female students, who are not Black, were in a physical altercation. The black student was the only one who faced expulsion, according to the Sacramento Bee. In the end, the district decided there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant her expulsion and suspended the girl for five days. The other girls were suspended for two days.