Chelsie Acosta, M.Ed. student, authors Salt Lake Tribune op-ed

Black, Indigenous, Youth of Color (BIYOC) are policed and surveilled every day in classrooms across the U.S. by those entrusted with their care and education, teachers.

Utah statistics show BIYOC are suspended and referred to the juvenile justice system at a disproportionately higher rate than whites.

A 2017 report issued by Voices for Utah Children and the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law found that Black students are 4.1 times more likely to be suspended, followed by Indigenous students at 3.9, Pacific Islander and Latinx at 2.3 times the rate in Utah. In the same report, we see that Indigenous youths are 7.7 times more likely to be referred to law enforcement.

To read the full article, click HERE.

Chelsie's editorial was written as part of Dr. Alvarez Gutiérrez’s ECS 7820: Juvenile (In)Justice & Education seminar.