Bias Training Court & Schools

WHEREAS, the NAACP is dedicated to eliminating racial inequities that plague the criminal justice and educational systems in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP stands firmly against the criminalization of African-American students that is prevalent in the educational system; and

WHEREAS, out of school suspension and expulsion policies disproportionately impact African-American students, increasing the likelihood of them entering the school-to-prison pipeline; and

WHEREAS, African-American defendants with the same or similar criminal profile as White defendants are more likely to receive as much as five years more years of punishment for the same or similar crimes; and

WHEREAS, ongoing bias training in the educational system and in the criminal justice system are necessary to eliminate disproportionate discipline against African-American students in the school system and sentencing disparities for African-American defendants in the criminal justice system; and

WHEREAS, social science evidence shows that the implementation of ongoing implicit bias training provides teachers can effectively educate teachers about their racial biases and equip them with the necessary skills to combat racial discrimination against African-American students, particularly in the area of discipline; and

WHEREAS, implicit bias training in the criminal justice system effectively equips attorneys, judges, probation officers in order to effectively eliminate racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, and eradicate sentence disparities based on race.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP calls on the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Education, state bar associations, state departments of education, local school boards, law schools, and the federal and state judiciary to undergo and conduct yearly implicit bias, cultural competency and bias disruption training with the teaching faculty, staff, judges and law students to eliminate racial bias within the legal and education systems.