The ACLU of Rhode Island issued a report today, analyzing eight years of data, showing that in all school districts across Rhode Island, black and Hispanic students are suspended at rates substantially higher than their representation in the student population, while white students are suspended much less often than their representation predicts. Worse, the disproportionate suspensions are often for minor behavioral infractions and begin in elementary school. The ACLU’s examination of school discipline data collected by the Rhode Island Department of Education between 2004 and 2012 also concluded that suspensions are routinely overused as punishment against students statewide.