Parents send their children to school to get educated, not arrested, but in New York City it seems as if handcuffs are as prevalent as books.

On average, five students were arrested each day in the school district during the last three months of 2011, according to NYPD data. Of those students, 90 percent were Black or Latino.

The statistics were released as a part of the School Safety Act, which requires the NYPD to issue the numbers every three months. From the most recent report, from October 1 to December 31 of 2011, 279 students were arrested, an additional 535 students were issued summonses, and Black students — who comprise only 29 percent of the student population — made up 60 percent of the arrests. Latinos made up 30 percent.

“If the Bloomberg administration is truly serious about helping young men of color succeed, then they must address these disparities and focus more attention on educating children — not arresting them.” New York Civil Liberties Union executive director Donna Lieberman said in a statement.

Lieberman addressed that the union requests for the mayor, schools chancellor and police to conduct an independent audit of the incidents and assess if the situations would be better handled by educators.

NYPD spokesman Paul Brown responded by citing there were 801 felonies in schools last year, compared to 1,577 in 2001, before the current administration took office.

 BET National News - Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world.

(Photo: Chip East/Landov)