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The number of students suspended at city schools has skyrocketed in the last decade, with black and disabled students comprising most of those disciplined, according to findings compiled by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

An analysis of the nearly 450,000 suspensions between 1999 and 2009 -- data obtained by the NYCLU through a Freedom of Information request -- found the number of students suspended had nearly doubled in 10 years, painting "a picture of zero tolerance practices" under the Bloomberg administration, the NYCLU said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Education, Natalie Ravitz, said race "is not a factor in suspension decisions" and defended the department's practices, saying violent crime has gone down in schools.

Other information based on NYCLU's findings: 

• One out of every 14 students was suspended in 2008-2009, totaling more than 73,000 suspensions. In 1999-2000, it was only one in 25.
• Students with disabilities, such as ADD, are four times more likely to be suspended than students without disabilities.
• Black students, who comprise 33 percent of the student body, served 53 percent of suspensions over the past 10 years. Black students with disabilities represent more than 50 percent of suspended students with disabilities.
• Black students also served longer suspensions on average and were more likely to be suspended for subjective misconduct, like profanity and insubordination.

The NYCLU's report, "Education Interrupted: The Growing Use of Suspensions in New York City's Public Schools," also cites anecdotes that spotlight suspensions are handed down over seemingly non-threatening incidents. Here is an example of an anecdote involving a Brooklyn middle-school student:

"The principal took a bottle of orange juice out of Monica’s backpack and began to yell at her for trying to bring juice into the school — drinks with added sugar are prohibited by DOE policy. Monica held onto the bottle, trying to explain that it was a type permitted under the rules. As Monica and her principal tugged on opposite ends of the bottle, Monica was tackled by a group of school safety officers who threw her to the ground, kneeled on her back and handcuffed her."

The authors of the report suggest black students tended to be singled out for suspensions, even at diverse schools that experienced few suspensions overall.

One of only a few black students in a predominantly white school in Queens, [Elijah] always had good grades and got along with most of his teachers. One day, Elijah’s friend brought a miniature souvenir baseball bat to school to play with. Elijah and a group of friends passed the foot-long bat around amongst themselves. When a teacher found them, they were sent to the principal’s office. The principal determined that the toy was a weapon and suspended Elijah, even though the bat did not belong to him. None of Elijah’s friends, all of whom were white, were suspended.

According to Johanna Miller, who analyzed the data for the NYCLU, the national research examining the after-effects of suspensions "show really, shockingly grim statistics about students never being able to catch up again with their schoolwork, failing out, dropping out of high school."