This piece is part two of a three part series on accountability in discipline policies and exclusion laws in Washington state entitled “Hidden Removals: Inside Washington’s Racial Discipline Crisis.”
Walk into any school district meeting in Spokane County and you’ll hear administrators say they’re committed to equity. They’ll point to restorative programs, staff training in handling diverse student bodies or student-support teams. But look closely at the discipline data: who is suspended, who is sent out of class, who is labeled “disruptive” and a different story emerges. A story where race still predicts punishment.
Across Washington, BIPOC students are disciplined at disproportionately high rates and Spokane County reflects the same pattern. And, while some districts acknowledge these disparities, others insist they’re doing everything they can even as the numbers remain unchanged. The troubling part? Many of these removals stem from subjective categories: “defiance, disrespect, noncompliance, and/or disruption.” These are labels that depend heavily on adult perception, bias and context. What one student sees as expressing frustration or asking clarifying questions can be interpreted by a staff member as talking back.
In Spokane Public Schools, Black students make up 3.6% of the population, and surrounding districts such as CVSD have Black student populations of 2.2%, yet parents report their children are more likely to be removed from class for behaviors that go unpunished among their white peers. In the Central Valley School District, Pacific Islander students describe being disciplined for speaking Marshallese in the hallway “too loud.” In Mead, Hispanic families report that cultural misunderstandings are interpreted as disrespect.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They reflect patterns.
The root issue isn’t that students of color misbehave more. Study after study shows they don’t. The issue is how behavior is interpreted, escalated and enforced. When discipline is subjective, bias (often implicit or unintentional) drives outcomes, and the consequences compound quickly. Phone Usage can cause a suspension and can trigger attendance problems.
Missed class time leads to lower grades. Falling behind increases the likelihood of dropout. For teens, exclusion sends the message that your school is not a place for you.
Parents see the impact clearly. “I feel like my son is being pushed out,” one Liberty Lake mother told me. Other CVSD families have echoed similar concerns: “It’s always our kids. Always the ones who don’t look like the majority.”
Washington’s laws require districts to review discipline disparities every year and create improvement plans. However, families say these plans often stay on paper. Reports get filed and meetings get held but nothing changes for the students sitting in the classrooms, especially in districts where School Boards increasingly loosen requirements on issues regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
For many, this last election was a time of hope for families in Eastern Washington school districts where representation was up on the ballot–but that hope dimmed when candidates committed to student equity and accountability failed to secure seats, leaving many boards with new or returning members unwilling to confront discipline disparities or defend inclusive policies, all while leaving families without the advocates they had hoped for.
Gen Z is calling this out too. Students are increasingly aware of inequities around them, especially those who’ve witnessed their friends or siblings disciplined for behavior others get away with. Teens in Spokane Public Schools describe the fear of becoming the next example, especially in a district where they feel outnumbered or misunderstood. At the same time, teachers are overwhelmed. Many say they aren’t trained to recognize cultural differences in communication or to handle conflict without defaulting to removal. Some want to use restorative practices but don’t have the staffing, planning time or district support to do it well.
So where does accountability fit? It begins with honest data, transparent reporting and community oversight. It requires admitting that racial discipline gaps are real, not accidental. And it demands using discipline not as a punishment, but as an opportunity for understanding and growth.
Families across Spokane County want solutions, not excuses. Students want to feel safe and seen. Educators want tools that actually work. And communities want schools that don’t
reproduce the inequalities they’re supposed to challenge. To close the racial discipline gap, Washington must treat discipline disparities not as unfortunate trends, but as civil rights issues. Because that’s what they are.
This article draws on data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), including Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates. Birdie Bachman is an intern for the Spokane NAACP Education Commitee.