Watch: Finding solutions to the high rate of suspensions of Black youth in California

Black students in California are suspended at disproportionately higher rates than their peers. The suspension rates for Black students has declined in recent years due to policy reforms, but is still higher than the suspension rates of other racial groups.

Keiona Williamson, the editor of The Sacramento Bee’s Equity Lab, will moderate a discussion titled “Black Minds Matter” at 1 p.m. Wednesday on this important topic.

A panel of policy makers and experts will provide solutions on how schools and education leaders can push forward needed changes.

The panel includes J. Luke Wood, a professor of education at San Diego State University; California Secretary of State Shirley Weber; state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; Joseph Johnson Jr., executive director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation at San Diego State University; Frank Harris III, a professor of education at San Diego State University; Daniel Lee, deputy superintendent of equity at the California Department of Education; Melina Abdullah, a professor of Pan-African studies at California State University, Los Angeles; and Tyrone Howard, the Pritzker Family Endowed Chair in Education to Strengthen Families at UCLA.

Access to the Zoom event is available at this link. RSVPs are required, and space is limited.

If the Zoom event is full, overflow access will be available on YouTube at this link.

This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.