New data show black students face far harsher punishments in public schools than their white peers. Data released by the U.S. Department of Education show that while black students constituted only 18 percent of those enrolled in sample schools, they accounted for 39 percent of all school expulsions. Black students were three-and-a-half times as likely overall to be suspended or expelled than white students. School reports also showed that more than 70 percent of students involved in school-related arrests or referred to local law enforcement were black or Latino. Students of color with disabilities were also disproportionately subjected to physical restraints.