The U.S. Department of Education is investigating whether Milwaukee Public Schools uses race as a factor when considering disciplining students.
The investigation comes as the department on Tuesday issued new guidance to educational institutions. The department argues that using race as a factor when disciplining is a violation of Title VI. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs that receive federal financial assistance.
MPS media relations manager Stephen Davis said the district received notice from the department’s Office for Civil Rights on Tuesday morning.
A statement released Tuesday by the Department of Education doesn’t specify what prompted the investigation, but says that education leaders in Milwaukee “derided facially neutral school policies as reflecting systemic ‘whiteness,’ seemingly encouraging school officials to consider race in disciplinary practices.”
Davis said the district will need more information from the department to respond appropriately.
New school discipline policy guidance
The Department of Education’s new guidance, referred to as a “Dear Colleague Letter,” is not a legal statute, but instead explains how the administration interprets existing laws. It details how discipline policies “must treat students even-handedly and must neither favor nor disfavor any student based on their race.”
The letter argues that the Constitution protects against intentional discrimination, not unintentional impacts.
“Mere statistical disparities generally cannot show discriminatory intent or disparate treatment,” the statement said.
If discipline policies are adopted and applied without wrongful racial intent, are facially neutral and applied even-handedly without regard to race, the Department of Education argues that those policies do not violate Title VI.
A letter sent to Milwaukee Public Schools did not provide information about the investigation past a basic notification and information on how to get in contact with the Office of Civil Rights.
Oversuspension of Black and Latino male students at MPS
David Castillo, who was part of the founding team of the district’s Department of Black and Latino Male Achievement, helped establish the curriculum formed largely as a solution to the oversuspension of Black and Latino boys in the district.
The Office of Civil Rights pushed MPS to reform its disciplinary policies in 2018 after a multi-year investigation found over 100 instances over a two-year span where Black students were expelled when white students were suspended for similar infractions. Black students also received harsher discipline than white students.
Castillo said he saw lower suspension rates for Black and Latino boys for fighting while participating in Black and Latino Male Achievement because the program helped to see students like them reflected in a positive light.
Because the data showed that these students were disproportionately suspended at higher rates, Castillo said, it was important to target that demographic specially.
Castillo said focusing on solutions for those most marginalized and affected by an issue opens the potential to find solutions for everyone else.
“You’re going to want to start where you see things are ineffective,” Castillo said.
Racial disparities in suspensions remain
Black students are still disciplined at disproportionate rates at MPS.
Black students were involved in 54% of the incidents that resulted in disciplinary action during the 2024-2025 school year but made up 78% of suspensions and 86% of expulsions, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
White students at MPS were involved in 9.5% of discipline incidents, made up 2% of suspensions and had no expulsions.
Henry Leonard, an MPS board member until 2025, pushed for the district to experiment with restorative practices as an alternative to suspensions and expulsions. He saw student behavior successfully change after trying restorative practices in his own classroom when he was a teacher.
He said when he got evaluations, the district’s administration was impressed by how his students listened to and respected him.
“They would say… you have almost no suspensions and fights are to a minimum,” Leonard said. “Over time, it became really clear… this was by far a better way to at least work in a classroom.”
Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
