Black students were three times more likely to be suspended than white students in the 2006-7 school year, according to data released to the Star by the Toronto District School Board.

Black students make up only about 12 per cent of high school students in the Toronto public board — about 32,000 — yet account for more than 31 per cent of all suspensions. White students account for some 29 per cent of suspensions, but make up nearly one-third of the entire student body.

This disproportionate rate is revealed in a board analysis of a student survey conducted at the height of much-criticized — and now scrapped — provincial zero-tolerance school disciplinary regime. The analysis is based on the most recent data available connecting race and suspension rates.

The board says fresh statistics from its latest 2011-12 census will be released in the next couple of months.

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“I’m hopeful the new data will reveal less of a discrepancy, but these numbers show we need to pay greater attention to why a disproportionate percentage of black students are being suspended,” Donna Quan, director of education, said Thursday. “I believe our schools follow the standards of discipline evenly, but we need to address the root causes of these issues at an earlier age.

“Are students bored? Are they hungry? Are there home factors like poverty? Are they acting out because lessons are not relevant to their lives?” asked Quan, who added that she was concerned about aboriginal students’ high suspension rates.

As well, a higher percentage of students of colour are identified as having special education needs, she noted, “and if frustration sets in, that’s when discipline issues can arise.”

It appears the data has not previously been released in the format provided to the Star, and it is not available on the board’s website. The Star requested the analysis early this year.

The survey figures show:

For the 2006/2007 school year, suspension rates were highest for aboriginal students, followed by black and mixed-race students.

Asian groups — East, South, West and Southeast Asian — had the lowest suspension rates.

One of every seven black Grade 7 and 8 students reported being suspended at least once. The ratio was slightly lower for high school.

One of every 20 white Grade 7 and 8 students reported being suspended at least once, a rate that also dropped slightly for high school.

The statistics stem from the settlement in a human rights complaint that stipulated the board had to collect and analyze race-based suspension data by the 2006-2007 school year. The province changed its approach to school conduct in 2008 to give principals more discretion over which students were suspended, and to promote prevention over punishment.

In Grades 7 and 8, black students make up 15 per cent of the schools’ population, but represent 37 per cent of suspensions.

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“For years we heard black students were suspended more often, but now that we have evidence, what will be meaningful is what the board and teachers and parents and the community do together to address the problem,” noted York University Professor Carl James,a specialist on issues facing black students. James believes “principals and teachers need to become aware of the social and cultural and economic situation the students face.

“Are there stereotypes operating here? Does the principal not pay attention to a family situation that might have triggered an incident?” wondered James, who is part of a conference Friday in Toronto on youth justice issues.

“If the principal doesn’t know about a student’s situation — maybe they’re late because they had to get up early to take their brother to school? — and the principal is not saying, ‘What can I do to help?’ then this is a worry,” said James.

A demographic snapshot for the board, to which James contributed, shows a struggling community; black students are less likely to live in a two-parent family than the board average, and their parents are less likely to have attended university. Many live in poverty, in households earning less than $30,000, or between $30,000 to $49,999.

While most said they feel safe at school and believe teachers set high expectations and accept them, only 54 per cent said they “feel supported by teachers,” according to the 2006 census survey.

As to school rules, just 42 per cent of students with a Caribbean background said they were applied fairly, versus 48 per cent of West African students and 53 per cent of East African students. Overall, the board average was 62 per cent.

In recent years, the Toronto board recognized that black students weren’t doing as well and were dropping out at a higher rate than others. Once pegged at about 40 per cent, their dropout rate is now down to about 23 per cent, Quan noted.

The board has responded in various ways, from opening a special “Africentric” school to offering courses on black history and creating mentoring groups, in particular for black boys.

It started keeping track of race and suspensions after the Ontario Human Rights Commission initiated a complaint “in the public interest and on behalf of racialized students and students with disabilities,” according to the terms of settlement.

There had been numerous complaints that board policy and the Safe Schools Act were having a disproportionate impact.

In the November 2005 settlement, it was left to the board to decide the best way to count suspensions by race. There was no requirement to publicly report the findings.