Missouri suspends black elementary school students at a higher rate than any other state in the nation, according to a new report out Monday from the Civil Right Project at the UCLA.
The Kansas City, Mo., public school district is one of four Missouri districts singled out.
According to the report, 14.3 percent of black elementary students in Missouri were given school suspensions in the 2011-2012 school year. That compares to just 1.8 percent of white students. The gap of 12.5 percent, is also top in the nation.
Kansas suspended 6.5 percent black elementary students and 1 percent of white students which is close to the national average.
The Kansas City Public Schools, St. Louis School District and the Normandy and Riverview Gardens districts in St. Louis County were above the statewide average.
The report says more than 20 percent of black elementary school students in those districts were given at least one suspension.
Many educators worry about out-of-school suspensions. Often times those students are unsupervised at home, many get arrested and almost all fall behind academically.
