There has been a belief that black students aren’t being treated as they should by their teachers and were punished way too many times. However, a new study shows that there is, in fact, a correlation between black children being suspended by their non-black teachers. It was found that there is relatively simple fix about this matter: HIRE MORE BLACK TEACHERS!

According to the quarterly journal, Education Next, black students are less likely to be punished if their teacher is black. Researchers from American University and University of California, Davis, checked teachers’ demographic data and students’ disciplinary records at several elementary school students in North Carolina between 2008 and 2013. It was discovered that the black girls in the school were less likely than black boys to receive punishment when their teachers were black women. 16% of black boys were faced with exclusionary discipline when their teachers were white women, the number fell to 14% when their teachers were black women, and the number fell even further with black men. However, the studies have shown that there was no significant impact on the punishment of white students.

“What’s interesting there, is even though the results are pretty small, they’re consistent. We cut the data a few different ways and it’s consistent with different types of school, whether suburban or urban,” says Constance Lindsay, a co-author.

These results really matter because previous research have proven that discipline practices have helped push students to the school-to-prison pipeline, which is one of the many barriers that is present in the African-American community.

The results of this study could have been due to the racial bias or could simply be because the black teachers related to the black students more. Either way, hiring black teachers would be a significant impact for the black community.