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Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. – An annual report produced by Kentucky’s education department found roughly twice as many black students as white students were suspended in the school district serving the state’s second-largest city.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported on Sunday that black students constituted 22.4 percent of the Fayette County public schools’ population during the 2016-2017 school year, while white students made up 52.2 percent. The annual School Report district Card found black students received nearly twice the number of both in-school and out-of-school suspensions as white students.

NAACP education chair Shambra Mulder urged school board members to formulate new discipline practices and policies, and suggested placing a psychologist in each school.

County director of Student Support Services Faith Thompson says the board recently hired a Culture Responsive Teaching and Learning Coach to address the disparity.