Many school districts are changing their codes of conduct in a way that limits the use of out-of-school suspension and expulsion and defines the role of law enforcement in school, a recent survey by the American Association of School Administrators and the Council of State Governments found.
But the resources—human and financial—needed to make those changes don’t always match what districts can muster.
via School Discipline Survey Finds Challenges in Making Changes.
A new wave of research shows that in disciplining students, out-of-school suspensions don’t help. More often, suspensions push students so far behind academically that dropping out becomes increasingly likely.
Critics of suspensions, and the zero-tolerance policies that fuel them, advocate for restorative practices, which have been making inroads across the country to demonstrated positive effect.
Brianna Boyd, Editor
Close to 10 percent of Dixon Unified students were suspended in the 2011-12 school year and nearly 25 percent were reported truant at least once, according to new data released Friday by the state.
Tom Torlakson, the state superintendent of public instruction, released information on student suspension, expulsion and truancy rates Friday for the state, county and local levels. This marks the first time the state has released information on suspension and expulsion rates utilizing the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System.
via State releases data on suspension, expulsion and truancy rates
SACRAMENTO—About one California student in 20 was suspended from school and one in 1,000 was expelled in the 2011-12 school year, according to data released for the first time using the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS), State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today.
The data show a total of 366,629 students suspended and 9,553 students expelled among the more than six million public school students in California, a suspension rate of 5.7 percent, and an expulsion rate of 0.1 percent.
With new data showing that more than half of all suspensions and a quarter of expulsions in California schools are for “willful defiance” of school authorities, the Assembly Education Committee voted 6-0 on Wednesday to move forward a bill that would restrict the use of the vague category by school administrators.
via Bill restricting ‘willful defiance’ for suspending students moves ahead – by Susan Frey.
The National School Boards Association has labeled the use of out-of-school suspensions a “crisis” in a new report.
The NSBA’s new policy guide for school board members urges change, citing statistics that show 3.3 million students were suspended out of school during the 2009-10 school year, including one in six black students.
via School Boards Join Movement Against Out-of-School Suspensions.
More than half of all suspensions and a quarter of expulsions in California schools are for “willful defiance” of school authorities, according to a new database that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is scheduled to release this Friday.
Until now, only very limited data on school suspensions and expulsions by school were available to researchers and others attempting to understand and address school discipline issues. The database represents a major step forward in providing a detailed portrait of who is suspended and expelled, and for what discipline violation.
via More than half of suspensions are for “willful defiance” of school authorities – by Louis Freedberg.
The likelihood of a student being suspended from school jumps from about 2.4 percent in elementary school to 11 percent in middle school, according to a new analysis by The Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles. When broken down by race, the numbers show the risk of suspension increases by 18 points for African American students and 11 points for Latino students, and only about 5 points for white students.
“Kids are getting pushed off track to graduation,” said Daniel J. Losen, co-author with Tia Elena Martinez of Out of School & Off Track: The Overuse of Suspensions in American Middle and High Schools. The report relies on 2009-10 data from more than 26,000 U.S. middle and high schools. More than 2 million students were suspended during that academic year.
via Report finds large jump in suspensions after students enter middle school – by Susan Frey.
The results of a new analysis of out-of-school-suspension data are even more reason to rethink that common method of disciplining students, researchers said Monday.
One of the findings researchers from the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at the University of California, Los Angeles, labeled “most disturbing” was that 36 percent of all black male students with disabilities were suspended out of school during the 2009-10 school year. The study analyzed data from about 85 percent of all public schools in the country.
via New Analysis Bolsters Case Against Suspension, Researchers Say.
Brianna Boyd, Editor
Four Dixon High students are facing possible expulsions from school after an investigation by school officials and the Dixon Police Department revealed that these teens have been involved in the sale and distribution of marijuana.
Due to confidentiality required in student disciplinary actions, Superintendent Brian Dolan is not able to disclose all the details in this ongoing investigation. He can reveal that the initial concern at Dixon High earlier this month was related to possession of marijuana. Two teens were found to be either under the influence of marijuana or in possession of the drug while on school grounds. Following a joint investigation between Dixon High administrators and the Dixon Police Department, four additional students, all juniors or seniors, were suspended March 8 with expulsion recommendations because of their involvement in arranging for the sales and distribution of marijuana.
via Four Dixon High teens caught distributing and selling marijuana
Changes in school policies will go a long way to dealing with some of the problems with the juvenile justice system, new recommendations for Congress and President Barack Obama say.
In particular, the National Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Coalition says schools rely too heavily on law enforcement to handle behavior problems students, resulting in arrests for behavior that doesn’t threaten the safety of other students or staff. The arrests can trigger a chain of contact with the juvenile justice system with a lifetime of repercussions.
via School Policies Must Adjust for Juvenile Justice System to Improve.
By
For several years, nearly 120 youthful defendants stayed at Solano County Juvenile Hall annually while awaiting disposition of their cases. That number has dropped to 75 per year, or about 40 percent, said Richard Watson, the facility’s superintendent.
The decrease at Juvenile Hall reflects a national trend, according to a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report distributed by Children Now.
The report finds the U.S. youth incarceration rate hit a 35-year low in 2010, although it remains the highest in the industrialized world.
via Solano County Juvenile Hall sees decline in incarcerated youth.
The Vallejo school board revisited Wednesday the steps the district has taken in the last two years to combat bullying and improve safety.
“The fact that bullying is all too common in our society does not mean it’s inevitable in our schools,” Superintendent Ramona Bishop said.
Her lengthy presentation comes after two months of vocal agitation from parents of bullied children. However, none of those parents who accused the Vallejo City Unified School District of failing to protect their children attended Wednesday’s meeting.
Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) is reintroducing his bill to limit the use of willfully defying authorities or disrupting school activities as a reason to suspend or expel students.
Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a different version of the bill, saying disciplinary practices should be left up to local school districts. The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and the California School Boards Association (CSBA) did not originally support the bill, though they later withdrew their opposition to the amended version that passed the Legislature.
via Second effort to limit ‘willful defiance’ as cause to expel and suspend – by Susan Frey.
As the White House considers proposals to allocate federal money for armed guards in schools, prominent school discipline reform groups have issued a report denouncing the idea as a misguided reaction to the school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
“Placing more police in schools has significant and harmful unintended consequences for young people that must be considered before agreeing to any proposal that would increase the presence of law enforcement in schools,” says an issue brief [PDF] released Friday by the Advancement Project, Dignity in Schools and other organizations.
via School discipline reform groups question plans for armed security.
A California assemblyman is once again trying to curb expulsions and suspensions for what’s known as “willful defiance,” when kids act out or misbehave in class or during school activities.
Advocates who support the assemblyman want to shift the state’s discipline policies away from punitive practices and toward alternative approaches that keep students in school and get to the root of their misbehavior. The advocates were largely successful in the last legislative session, sponsoring five discipline bills that became law.
via EdWatch 2013: Unfinished agenda on school discipline – by Susan Frey.
By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor
Benicia City Council/School Board Liaison Committee met Thursday for the first time since September and heard a presentation on a program to overhaul how students guilty of drug offenses serve their suspensions.
The panel also saw a presentation on the ongoing study into whether to close the Benicia High School campus at lunch time.
Benicia police Chief Andrew Bidou began the presentation on the School Suspension Drug Diversion Program, saying Superintendent Janice Adams hosted a meeting last month on the statewide Healthy Kids Survey, which includes questions about drug use in certain grades.
Every morning, Rosalind Davis can expect a visit from her “dream team.””They’ll either find me, or I’ll find them,” said Davis, of the three students who have become an example of the Vallejo City Unified School District’s new disciplinary approach.
At Beverly Hills Elementary School, where Davis has been principal for the last three years, students who violate rules during recess are sent to “rule school” for the duration of break where they discuss what they could do differently next time.
By Susan Frey
Elk Grove Unified has dramatically reduced suspensions and expulsions of foster youth by applying the principles of the recently passed law, Assembly Bill 1909, long before the bill was written.
The new law, which goes into effect in January, requires districts to notify social workers when a foster child enters one of their schools and to contact the child’s attorney if he or she faces a possible expulsion hearing. Unlike most children, foster children generally lack a parent to advocate for them if they get into trouble. They often shift from home to home, and depend on their social worker and court-appointed attorney, who serve as their advocates and typically know them best.
via Elk Grove sharply reduces suspensions of foster youth – by Susan Frey.
Gov. Brown recently signed three bills designed to reduce the number of student suspensions and expulsions and give school administrators more alternatives for dealing with troubled students. KQED’s Cy Musiker interviewed EdSource’s Kathryn Baron to learn more about the three bills. As Baron noted:
[T]he problem is is that there are so many suspensions in California schools. About 750,000 in 2009/10…To put that in perspective, San Francisco has a population of about 813,000…That’s a higher percentage than in any other state.
And a disproportionate number of those suspensions go to black and Latino students, a fact the bills are also designed to address.
To listen to the interview or read the transcript, visit the KQED website: Bills Take New Approach to Student Discipline | KQED Public Media for Northern CA.
via Kathryn Baron interviewed on KQED to explain student discipline bills – by Brent Zupp.