School disorderly conduct charges are vague, overly harsh and used disproportionately, say researchers.
Time and again, studies have shown that minority students are more likely than their white peers to be penalized for the same behavior. And sometimes, it’s the state’s criminal code that makes things even worse.
A new report from a legal advocacy group for low-income Virginians found black students made up a disproportionate share of the disorderly conduct charges filed by Virginia public school officers. The group called on the state to eradicate the part of the criminal code that allows schools to charge students with “disorderly conduct” for things like “cutting in a lunch line,” “singing on a school bus,” and “shouting in a cafeteria.” Read more here.
Davis Burroughs Davis is a congressional reporter at COURIER and is based in Richmond. Before joining Courier Newsroom, Davis covered Congress for Morning Consult. He moved to Virginia in 2017, where he co-founded The Regeneration Magazine, an international publication about people creating a better planet.
