If we didn't have statistical research on educational techniques, we'd never make breakthroughs like "Maybe we should stop beating children." And if we didn't have the state of Texas, we'd never have angry internet commenters passionately arguing that their state is about much more than dying while raping elderly women. Put these two dynamics together, and what do you get? A new report on how maybe Texas' "expel everyone" discipline plan should be re-examined.

A huge new study of nearly a million students in Texas found that, guess what, at some schools they just freaking suspend and expel everyone for any old thing, and that does not tend to be good for the educational career of said suspendees. The study strongly indicated that minority students are far more likely to be disciplined for "discretionary" violations of classroom rules. There are lots of choice nuggets (meaning "savagely depressing statements on our society's inhuman brutality") in here—like the fact that "Nearly 60 percent of junior high school and high school students get suspended or expelled"—but this one really stands out:

One glaring example: 70 percent of black girls were suspended or expelled, compared with 37 percent of white girls, usually for the same offenses. This gets to another key finding: In almost every case, the decision to remove a student was made solely by a teacher or school administrator.

Yeah, but the white girl is really a good kid.

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