Biased Discipline & Predisposition within American Public Schools

Abstract

On September 23rd, 1954 the decision to force desegregation of America’s public schools, made it unconstitutional to have racially separate schools. However, literature today suggests the Brown v. Board of Education court case was detrimental and negatively impacted colored children. It also suggests this contributed to the current discipline and achievement gaps, and impacted today's racial imbalance among careers and graduation rates. Foucault describes the Panoptic gaze as the foundation to our understanding of discipline. Brown v. Board of Education placed children of color in schools where they were a minority, contributing to the frequency and harshness of discipline. Racial bias shaped the foundation of today’s discipline structure, and how authority figures in schools react to colored students differently than the White students. My senior thesis explored the previously mentioned gaps, factors that influence decisions made by authority, and how the combination of inherent bias and a biased discipline system can impact different authority figures disciplinary decisions.