From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
The most glaring of these are when parents complain to a teacher or administrator about a behavior rule being enforced and push back against it. An example is when a student violates the technology AUP (Acceptable Use Policy), and the teacher enforces the consequence. Let's say a student uses a school device in an unacceptable way, such as to bully another student online. The student is expected to accept the punishment as stated in the AUP to reteach behavioral expectations.
Black students, on average, face lower graduation rates, fewer college pathways, and long-term economic consequences. But racial trauma makes this gap worse. Whether it's being underestimated in the classroom, forced to walk through metal detectors every morning, or exposed to viral videos of police brutality, Black children absorb daily messages that erode their focus, sense of safety, and confidence. Research shows that the stress of combating stereotypes and discrimination even elevates cortisol (the stress hormone), impairing learning and motivation.
Black students were approximately 3.6 times more likely to be suspended out of school, 2.5 times more likely to be suspended in school, and 3.4 times more likely to be expelled compared to white students.
