1

REPORTCARD

OrangeCountySchools

AmericanIndian(.3%)

Asian(1.3%) Hispanic(21.6%) Black(15%) White(57.7%) Multi-Racial(4.1%)

PacificIslander(.1%)

SchoolDistrictDemographics

2016-17

2017•PRODUCEDBYYOUTHJUSTICEPROJECT

ACADEMICACHIEVEMENT

TotalDistrictPopulation:7,441

RACIALEQUITY

Inthe2016-17schoolyearinthisdistrict,Whitestudentsingrades3-8were2.4timesmorelikelytoscore“CareerandCollegeReady”onend-of-

gradeexamsthanBlackstudentsinthesamegrades.

Studentswhoarebehindorfailingacademicallyaremore likely tobetruant,actout,andultimatelydropoutofschool.Statewide,in2016-17,only29.7%ofBlackstudents in grades3-8 scored “College andCareerReady”on their final exams,compared to 61.7% ofWhite students. While standardized test scores are notnecessarilyanaccuratemeasureof trueability, theyserveas thebasis formanyimportant decisions (e.g. courseplacement, gradepromotion). Thus, low scoresnegativelyimpactastudent’sacademicopportunitiesandoutcomes.

ACADEMICACHIEVEMENT

WhataretheRacialEquityReportCards(RERCs)?TheRERCsusepublicallyavailabledatatoprovideasnapshotofacommunity’sschool-to-prisonpipeline,includinganyracialdisproportionalitiesthatexistinthepipeline.

Whatistheschool-to-prisonpipeline(STPP)?TheSTPPisthesystemofpoliciesandpracticesthatpushstudentsoutofschoolandintothejuvenileandadultcriminalsystems.TheSTPPhasmanyentrypoints.OncestudentsarecaughtintheSTPP,itcanbeverydifficultforthemtoreengageandbesuccessfulatschool.InalmosteveryNCcommunity,studentsofcolorareoverrepresentedateachentrypointtothepipeline.

WhatisthepurposeoftheRERCs?TheRERCsareintendedtobeastartingpointforcommunityeducationanddiscussion.Therearemanycausesofracialdisproportionalityincluding,butnotlimitedto,implicitracialbiasofdecision-makers,institutionalandstructuralracism,andexplicitdiscriminationagainstpeopleofcolor.Together,theseforcesperpetuateracialdisproportionalityinacommunity’sSTPP.TheRERCsarenotmeantasanattackonthecriticallyimportantpublicinstitutionsthatserveouryouth,butrather,asacall-to-actionforstudents,parents,advocates,policymakers,andinstitutionalstakeholderstocollectivelyexaminethecausesofracialinequityintheircommunityanddevelopsolutionsthatwillhelpyoungpeople,especiallyyouthofcolor,avoidandescapetheschool-to-prisonpipeline.

53 52.664.7 67

36.3 33.529.2 27.4

0

20

40

60

80

2015-16SchoolYear 2016-17SchoolYearOverall White Hispanic Black

%ofStudentsGrade3-8"CollegeandCareerReady"onEnd-of-GradeExamsbyRace*

2

Short-TermSuspensions(STS)(1-10schooldays) 442

HighSchoolSTSRate(Per100Students) 7.99

Long-TermSuspensions(morethan10days) 2

Expulsions(indefinite) 0

53.1 57.565.5 69.7

35.2 37.123.6

32.2

0

20

40

60

80

2015-16SchoolYear 2016-17SchoolYear

Overall White Hispanic Black

%ofHighSchoolStudents"CollegeandCareerReady"onEnd-of-CourseExamsbyRace*

45.5

12.9

37.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

Short-TermSuspensions Long-TermSuspensionsWhite Hispanic Black

2015-16DISTRICTOVERVIEW

89.3 89.190 89.5

8485.7

90.389

80828486889092

2015-16SchoolYear 2016-17SchoolYear

Overall White Hispanic Black

%ofStudentsWhoGraduateHighSchoolWithin4YearsofEnteringbyRace*

SCHOOLDISCIPLINE Anytimespentoutoftheclassroomfordisciplinaryreasonsistimeastudent

isnotlearning.Researchshowsthatout-of-schoolsuspensionisineffectiveatcorrectingmisbehavior.Instead,suspensionislinkedtoacademicfailureandcourt involvement, with no measurable positive impact on overall schoolsafety.Statewide, in2015-16,Blackstudentsreceived57%ofall short-termsuspensions,eventhoughtheymakeuponly26%ofthestudentpopulation.

While many school districts have decreased out-of-school suspensions inrecent years, there has been a corresponding increase in other disciplinemeasuresthattakestudentsoutoftheirnormalclassroomorschool,suchasin-schoolsuspensionortransfertoanalternativeschool.Thesemeasuresarealsodisruptivetolearningandareoftenineffectiveunlessindividualizedandresearch-basedsupportisprovidedinthealternativeenvironment.

Inthe2015-16schoolyearinthisdistrict,Blackstudentswere3.2timesmorelikelythanWhitestudentstoreceiveashort-termsuspension.

%ofSuspensionsbyRace(2015-16)†

3

SCHOOLDISCIPLINE

YouthJusticeProjectoftheSouthernCoalitionforSocialJusticeworkstoensureequity,fairness,andjusticeforyouthinhigh-qualityeducation,juvenile,andcriminalsystems.

Formoreinformation,visitusatyouthjusticenc.org.

2016COUNTYOVERVIEW

Total#ofJuvenileCourtComplaints 101

Total#ofJuvenileDetentionAdmissions 6

42.6

10.9

40.6

5.9

0

10

20

30

40

50

Complaints DetentionAdmissionsWhite Hispanic Black Other

%ofJuvenileCourtComplaintsandDetentionAdmissionsinCountybyRace(CY2016)**

COURTINVOLVEMENT Criminalizationofyouthfulmisbehaviorhasimmediateandlong-termconsequences.

Studies show youth who are court involved are more likely to reoffend and beentangled in the criminal system as adults. Furthermore, court involvement canimpact a youth’s access to public education, employment, public housing, publicbenefits, voting rights, andother sourcesof opportunity and support. In 2016-17,over 40%of juvenile court referrals statewide came from schools. Overhalf of alljuvenile complaintswere filed against Black youth even though theymake up lessthanaquarterofthepopulation.

Thedatainthissectiononlyincludesyouthunder16yearsold.InNorthCarolina,all16and17yearoldsareautomaticallysenttotheadultcriminalsystemregardlessoftheoffense.ThiswillchangeinDecember2019whenallyouthundertheageof18willbesenttothejuvenilesystem,withsomeyouthsenttoadultcourt forseriousoffenses.However,until thischangetakeseffect,dataonarrestsanddetentionforyouthwhoare16andolderisnotavailable.

39%

61%

SchoolBasedComplaintsNon-SchoolBasedComplaints

%ofJuvenileComplaintsthatwereSchoolBasedJuly2016-June2017

DataNotes:*Lackofdatainacategoryindicatesthedistrictdidnothavesufficientdataforreportinginthatcategory.Percentagesgreaterthan95orlessthan5arereportedbythestateas>95and<5respectively.Here,theyaredisplayedas95and5respectively.†Insomeinstances,itisimpossibletoknowtheexactnumberofsuspensionsforaracialgroupbecauseofthewaysuspensiondataispublicallyreported.Ifthereisenoughdatatoapproximatepercentagesbyrace,theRERCsdisplaythoseapproximations.Allapproximationsareequaltoorslightlylowerthantheactualpercentages.

**Racialbreakdownsarenotpublicallyavailableforcategoriesinwhichthecountyhadfewerthan50overalloccurrencesinthatcategory.