The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released new data showing persistent disparities in our Nation’s public schools between minority and non-minority students. Gaps that still remain for students of color and those with disabilities include incidents of discipline, restraint and seclusion, access to courses and programs that lead to college and career readiness, teacher equity, rates of retention, and access to early learning. Notable findings for students with disabilities in grades K-12 include disproportionate rates of suspension and restraint or seclusion. Students with disabilities served by IDEA (11%) are more than twice as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions as students without disabilities (5%) and students with disabilities served by IDEA represent 12% of all students, but 67% of students subject to restraint or seclusion. Read OCR’s press release here.