#school-discipline

#school-discipline

The freshman from Phoenix had long struggled with depression and would cut her arms to feel something. Anything. The first drag from a friend's vape several years ago offered the shy teenager a new way to escape. She quit cutting but got hooked on nicotine. Her sadness got harder to carry after her uncle died, and she felt she couldn't turn to her grieving parents for comfort. Bumming fruity vapes at school became part of her routine.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

Black students, on average, face lower graduation rates, fewer college pathways, and long-term economic consequences. But racial trauma makes this gap worse. Whether it's being underestimated in the classroom, forced to walk through metal detectors every morning, or exposed to viral videos of police brutality, Black children absorb daily messages that erode their focus, sense of safety, and confidence. Research shows that the stress of combating stereotypes and discrimination even elevates cortisol (the stress hormone), impairing learning and motivation.

There's a girl in here?

Black students were approximately 3.6 times more likely to be suspended out of school, 2.5 times more likely to be suspended in school, and 3.4 times more likely to be expelled compared to white students.