Introduction of the Combating Implicit Bias in Education Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Combating Implicit Bias in Education Act. My bill would create a $30 million grant program for schools to train teachers, principals and other personnel on implicit bias with respect to actual or perceived race, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

This year, a report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that students of color with disabilities received far more severe and frequent punishment than their white counterparts. In December, the U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos eliminated the Obama Administration's guidance seeking to curb exclusionary discipline, undermining key steps toward dismantling discriminatory discipline practices in classrooms.

In 2017, the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality released a report finding that people disproportionately think of Black girls as more adult-like and less innocent compared to their white peers. This bias has been linked to harsher treatment of Black girls in schools. Students experiencing implicit bias and even outright discrimination face far greater expulsion and suspension rates, fueling the school-to- prison pipeline and widening the student achievement gap.

This bill aims to reduce the effect of implicit bias on school discipline, academic achievement and academic attainment through research-based training for education personnel, and provides teachers with necessary tools to provide equal educational and constructive behavioral feedback.

Under my bill, the Institute of Education Sciences under the Department of Education would be tasked with evaluating and reporting on the effectiveness of the training.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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