ACLU calls for Pittsburgh Public Schools to end use of summary citations
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The use of summary citations in Pittsburgh Public Schools is coming under scrutiny.
The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter asking the district to permanently end the practice.
According to advocates, school staff and police officers distributed citations to students in a disproportionate manner. They claim while Black students make up 53% of the student body, they account for more than 75% of all students involved in incidents that lead to a summary citation.
"That means Black students are 12 times more likely to receive citations as students who are white. When you dig even deeper, we see that there's no real difference in student behavior," said Cara McClellan, director of the Advocacy for Racial and Civil Justice Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
At the beginning of the school year, the moratorium went into effect and was extended in November. However, it comes to an end on Jan. 29.
Advocates believe the district should use this opportunity to germanely end the use of summary citations.
Gene Walker, PPP board president, said the district is working toward that, adding that a new policy is in the works.
"We always are concerned with how our policies are affecting families. And so, our goal as a board in a school district is always to find a way to help keep our students safe," Walker said.
The pre-policy committee will meet on Monday, the day the moratorium expires, to discuss when the new policy will be introduced.