Demanding Dignity in Our Schools Report (2012)

Yellow school bus parked on a residential street in South Los Angeles

School discipline disparities in South LA have pushed generations of Black students out of classrooms—often without documentation, accountability, or notice to families.

In South Los Angeles, a child could be removed from their classroom for hours—or sent home entirely—and no one would ever write it down. No suspension. No paperwork. No call to a parent. Just a child pushed out of learning, pushed out of community, and pushed deeper into silence.

In this school environment, students face challenges that can affect their learning.

Additionally, the lack of support in school further exacerbates these issues.

That is one of the most disturbing truths uncovered by CADRE parents and Public Counsel in this review of school discipline from 2009–2012. Even as official suspension numbers went down, the lived reality for many families did not improve. Black children were still being disciplined at dramatically higher rates, and many were being pushed out of class in ways that never appeared in the data.

This report matters because it exposes what happens when systems choose appearances over accountability, and how deeply that harms the children and families of South LA. It lifts up the voices of parents who refused to accept silence, who insisted on seeing the full truth, and who understood that dignity is not a policy—it is a practice.

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Key Highlights

  • Discipline in South LA looked different—and harsher—than the rest of the district. Students here faced significantly higher suspension rates year after year.
  • Black students bore the brunt, with suspension rates nearly four times higher than their Latino peers.
  • Some schools issued hundreds of suspensions, year after year, many to the same children.
  • Parents witnessed “off-the-books” removals—children sitting in offices, wandering unsupervised, sent home without explanation. All the harm, none of the record.
  • Only one-third of schools showed signs of using the required supports and interventions meant to help—not punish—students.
  • More than half of schools showed no parent presence on SWPBIS teams, and most offered no interpretation services, shutting families out of decisions that shaped their children’s futures.

Why This Report Still Matters

Although this report examines school discipline practices from 2009–2012, the conditions it documents continue to shape the experiences of families in South Los Angeles today. Parents still raise concerns about racial bias in discipline, undocumented classroom removals, and the absence of meaningful supports for students who are struggling.

For families, this report offers language to name what often feels invisible. It explains how discipline practices that are not formally recorded can still cause lasting harm—disrupting learning, isolating students, and eroding trust between schools and parents. For advocates and educators, it serves as a reminder that policy change alone is not enough without implementation, monitoring, and accountability.

CADRE continues to build on this work by supporting parents to document their experiences, participate in decision-making, and demand school environments rooted in dignity, care, and justice. This report stands as part of a longer arc of parent-led organizing to end pushout and dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline in South LA.

Who This Report Is For

This report is for parents who have questioned why their child was removed from class without explanation, for caregivers navigating school discipline systems that feel opaque or unresponsive, and for families seeking clarity about their rights. It is also intended for educators, advocates, and decision-makers who want to understand how discipline policies can fail when parent voice is excluded and accountability is absent. By centering parent experience alongside data, the report offers a grounded perspective on what dignity in schools must look like in practice.

Understanding these dynamics is crucial for improving school discipline practices.

Ultimately, families desire a school system that prioritizes their children’s well-being.

Publication Details

This report aims to shed light on the importance of accountability within our school systems.

  • Title: Demanding Dignity in Our Schools: Calling for Full Implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports in LAUSD South LA Schools
  • Authors: CADRE, Public Counsel Law Center, Mental Health Advocacy Services
  • Year: 2012

Improving school environments is essential for fostering student success.

This report is part of CADRE’s broader work to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, outlined in our Theory of Change.

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