Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights resolves discipline investigation of Burney’s Fall River Joint Unified School District

The district signed a resolution agreement to resolve OCR’s concerns identified in its investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) that the school district’s discipline practices appeared to treat Native American students differently than similarly situated white students for the same or similar offenses.

OCR’s investigation raised concerns that the school district appears to have discriminated against Native American students on the basis of national origin by disciplining them more frequently and more harshly than similarly situated white students, including by transferring Native American students to alternative schools.

OCR found persistent overrepresentation of Native American students in discipline for each year analyzed from SY 2013-14 through 2022-23, and many instances where the district appeared to sanction Native Americans more harshly than similarly situated white students for the same or similar offense, even when their discipline histories were comparable or worse than those of the Native American students:

• Native American students were 10.2 times more likely than white students to receive the district’s most severe discipline outcomes of expulsion, a transfer to an alternative school, and a district referral to law enforcement;
• District records reflect that it administered more severe and exclusionary discipline to Native American students than white students for the same or less serious behavior, including dress code and cell phone violations, even when the white student’s discipline history was comparable to or more extensive than the history of the Native American student;
• The district disproportionately disciplined Native American students by transferring them to alternative schools, including community day and continuation schools; and
• District schools operated inconsistent discipline rules and practices, including higher and harsher rates of discipline at a school with one of the larger enrollments of Native American students.

While Native American students constituted 12 percent of district enrollment in SY 2022-23, they constituted 22.8 percent of students suspended out of school and 52.4 percent of students with the most severe discipline consequences of expulsion, disciplinary transfers and referrals to law enforcement.

In contrast, white students in the district comprised 55.8 percent of district enrollment that school year, 42.8 percent of students suspended out of school, and just 23.8 percent of students with the most severe consequences of expulsion, disciplinary transfers, and referrals to law enforcement.

The district’s commitments in the resolution agreement include:

• Establishing a stakeholder equity committee to include Pit River Tribal members and other community members to inform the district’s discipline policies, practices, and implementation of the OCR agreement;
• Employing a director to oversee the district’s discipline practices and implementation of the OCR agreement, and to ensure nondiscrimination in student discipline;
• Improving the collection of student discipline data and regularly analyzing such data to identify and, as needed, to address possible areas and causes of discrimination;
• Revising its discipline policies and procedures to help ensure nondiscriminatory and consistent treatment of students in discipline;
• Training district employees on the revised discipline policies and procedures;
• Conducting school climate surveys to identify student and community concerns about discipline; and
• Holding parent and student information sessions to explain the disciplinary process.

“I applaud Fall River Joint Unified School District’s commitment today to ensure nondiscrimination in its discipline practices for Native American students,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “We look forward to continuing to work with the district and the Pit River Tribe to ensure that Native American students and all students are treated fairly when disciplined.”

Click here to see the Letter of Resolution  to the Fall River Joint Unified School District and click here to see the resolution agreement  posted on the Office for Civil Rights website.