Are your children safe in school?

Drugs, gangs, over crowded classes, out-of-date text books, teen pregnancies, bullies, unqualified teachers, teachers molesting students, discrimination, sexism, racism and an education system rife with inequities for blacks and other minority students and those with disabilities.

“A quarter of high schools with the highest percentage of black and Latino students do not offer Algebra II; a third of these schools do not offer chemistry,” said the Education Department.

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It’s not just lack of access to core curriculum subjects.

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Christopher Emdin, a professor of science education at Teachers College, Columbia University, said if a school doesn’t offer advanced math and science classes, students are told they are not expected to take those classes.

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“There is nothing more severe in contemporary America, particularly as it relates to youth of color, than the soft bigotry of low expectations,” Emdin said. “These inequities in the availability of science and math classes show young people that not much is expected of them.

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TEACHERS:

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Minority students are more likely to attend schools with a higher concentration of first-year teachers than white students. And while most teachers are certified, nearly half a million students nationally attend schools where nearly two-thirds or fewer of teachers meet all state certification and licensing requirements. Black and Latino students are more likely than white students to attend these schools.

DISCIPLINE:

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Data released Friday from the 2011-2012 school year show the disparities begin among even the youngest of school kids. Black children represent about 18 percent of children in preschool programs in schools, but they make up almost half of the preschoolers who are suspended more than once. Overly zealous discipline and “zero-tolerance” policies send students to court instead of the principal’s office, known as the ”schools-to-prisons pipeline.”

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SECLUSION AND RESTRAINT:

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“Seclusion and restraint” is a term used to describe when students are strapped down or physically restrained in schools. The data show students with disabilities represent about 12 percent of the student population, but about 60 percent of students placed in seclusion or involuntary confinement and three quarters of students restrained at school. While black students make up about one in five of students with disabilities, more than one-third of the students who are restrained at school are black. Overall, the data show that more than 37,000 students were placed in seclusion, and 4,000 students with disabilities were held in place by a mechanical restraint.

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PRESCHOOL:

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40 percent of school districts do not offer preschool programs.