Equity Assistance Centers (EACs) are funded by the U.S. Department of Education to help state and local education authorities address issues of discrimination and disproportionality. One issue of concern is the disproportionate use of discipline that involves students in the formal juvenile justice system, including referrals to law enforcement for school offenses.

Data collected by the California Attorney General’s office on student arrests indicates disproportionality in such arrests, but it is unclear if this result is due to how these data are defined by the state and reported by police departments.

The Region IX Equity Assistance Center will support the Justice & Prevention Research Center, both projects of WestEd, in an independent examination of these data. This project will be conducted over the coming months.