Educators and community activists joined federal officials in downtown Los Angeles last night for a statewide hearing on school discipline. The gathering sought to analyze a new report from the U.S. Department of Education that found African-American and Latino students across the country face harsher discipline, have less access to quality education, and are more often taught by lower-paid and less experienced teachers. Community activists argue that out-of-school suspensions have had an especially negative impact on black and brown young men. Pacifica KPFK’s Ernesto Arce was at the Central Library in downtown LA. He files this report.