The overall student population shrank between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 school years, but the number of students restrained and secluded rose. The U.S. pre-K-12 public education system shrunk slightly, with fewer students, schools and school districts recorded in the 2023-24 school year compared to the 2021-22 school year, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) Civil Rights Data Collection.
The 2023-24 civil rights data collection summary, released by the USDE this fall, also includes statistics about discipline, restraint and seclusion, academic access and student characteristics.
The mandatory data collection takes place every two years. For the 2023-24 school year, the CRDC included data from more than 17,000 school districts and 97,000 schools nationwide. During the 2023-24 school year, students with disabilities served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act were disproportionately disciplined, which was also a trend noted in the 2021-22 school year. In addition, nearly half of mechanically restrained students are Black.
In a questionable move in releasing the 2023-24 civil right data this fall, the USDE redacted data collected about nonbinary students’ experiences, such as enrollment, discipline, bullying and harassment, and whether districts have policies prohibiting the harassment or bullying of students on the basis of their gender identity.
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