The Lexington Human Rights Committee invites everyone in the Greater Lexington community to bring your hearts and minds to this conversation on racial justice and discipline disparity. This is an opportunity to talk to your neighbors about what each of us can do to ensure that all of our students have equal opportunities to learn and their civil rights are protected.

Topic: Creating a Safe and Just School Environment in Lexington and Beyond.

Missing out on instruction time can have a devastating impact on educational outcomes for students, particularly time lost due to suspensions. Research has demonstrated that losing instruction time can affect reading achievement and that suspensions are an important predictor of graduation rates and involvement with the juvenile justice system.

Disparity in suspension rates, as found in a review of historical school discipline data, is just one example of how in Lexington, black students and students with disabilities bear the brunt of this loss of opportunity to learn.