Schools in NC’s Border Belt refer Black students to police more often, report says

Schools in Bladen, Columbus, and Scotland counties referred only Black students to law enforcement for disorderly conduct for the past six years, according to a report from the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina.

Bladen, Columbus, and Scotland were among 25 of the state’s 100 counties where schools referred only Black students to police for disorderly conduct from 2017 to 2023, according to the Oct. 19 report, “Consequences of Cops in North Carolina Schools.”

The report highlights racial disparities in the discipline of students at public, private, and charter schools since the “disorderly conduct in schools” law went into effect in 2016. Under the law, it is a crime to “disrupt, disturb, or interfere with teaching.”

Instead of law enforcement officers, the report argues, schools need more mental health professionals like counselors and nurses.

During the report’s time frame, Black students across the state received disorderly conduct referrals to law enforcement at four times the rate of white students. Black students accounted for less than one-fourth of the student population but got 56% of the disorderly conduct referrals.

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