By LaKeshia N. Myers
Dr. LaKeshia N. Myers
The recent executive order issued by President Donald Trump concerning K-12 school discipline has ignited significant concern among civil rights advocates across Wisconsin and the nation. The order, which effectively dismantles Title VI protections established during the Obama and Biden administrations, has raised alarms about potential increases in suspensions, expulsions, and arrests that disproportionately impact Black and Brown students, and students with disabilities.
The executive order takes aim at previous guidance that encouraged schools to examine disciplinary practices through an equity lens and consider whether students of color were being subjected to harsher punishments than their white peers and/or non-disabled peers for similar infractions. By removing these guardrails, many fear we will see a return to the troubling discipline disparities that have plagued our education system for decades.
At the core of Trump’s executive order is his dislike of what he calls equity ideology. “The Federal Government will no longer tolerate known risks to children’s safety and well-being in the classroom that result from the application of school discipline based on discriminatory and unlawful “equity” ideology” (Trump, 2025). In January 2014, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice jointly issued a “Dear Colleague” letter regarding school discipline. In that letter, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice explained that schools could be found to violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — and therefore could lose Federal funding — if their disciplinary decisions ran afoul of a newly imposed disparate-impact framework under which race-neutral disciplinary policies, applied in an even-handed manner, may be improper if members of any racial groups are suspended, expelled, or referred to law enforcement at higher rates than others.
According to Donald Trump, the letter required schools to discriminate based on race by imposing discipline based on racial characteristics, rather than on objective behavior alone.
This perspective is skewed, misinformed, and extremely dangerous.
Data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has consistently shown that Black students are suspended and expelled at rates three to four times higher than their white counterparts, despite representing a smaller percentage of the student population. but account for nearly 80% of all suspensions.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in Wisconsin has handled numerous cases highlighting these disparities. In one notable case from 2022, investigators found that a school district in southeastern Wisconsin was referring Black students to law enforcement at five times the rate of white students for similar infractions. The district subsequently entered into a resolution agreement that required the implementation of more equitable discipline practices—precisely the type of intervention that may now be jeopardized.
For Black students, referrals to police occurred most often in the Sparta Area School District, Sheboygan Falls, and Portage. Disabled students were most often targeted in White Lake, Webster, Rhinelander, and the Dodgeville school districts. Milwaukee’s rate, 7.2 per 1,000 students, was lower than Wisconsin’s overall rate of nine per 1,000 yet still higher than the national average, as was Madison’s rate of 6.2 per 1,000.
The previous administration’s approach emphasized restorative justice practices, which focus on repairing harm rather than punitive measures. Schools that implemented these practices reported reduced suspension rates and an improved school climate overall. Critics worry that abandoning these approaches will lead to a regression toward zero-tolerance policies that research has consistently shown to be ineffective and harmful, particularly for students of color.
As districts across Wisconsin adjust to this policy shift, educators, parents, and advocates are watching closely to see whether the fears of increased exclusionary discipline materialize. Many hope that the progress made in recent years toward more equitable school environments will continue, despite the changed federal landscape.
For now, civil rights organizations are encouraging families to document and report any instances of inequitable discipline and to remain engaged with local school boards and school administrators about discipline policies that affect their children’s education.