Charters 'nix 23%' of kids
Boys will be boys, but nonpublic schools are quick to expel average little rascals
Last Updated: 7:32 AM, April 24, 2011
Posted: 12:10 AM, April 24, 2011
PrintHe called a classmate a "spaghetti noodle" because she was skinny. And he led the "Rubberband Gang" that launched pellets of paper across the classroom. But now sixth-grader Tyrique Royal, 12, is facing expulsion from Fahari Academy Charter School on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn -- for being a kid.
The school insists it's simply adhering to a strict "no-bullying" policy parents are well aware of, but student advocates say Tyrique's case illustrates the disparity between how charter and public schools handle difficult kids.
In the public-school system, students cannot be expelled if they are under 17, and principals cannot suspend a student for more than five consecutive days.
For serious offenses like dealing drugs or using weapons, a superintendent must intervene to suspend the student for longer. Only two students in the city have been expelled in the past three years -- and both were ousted for reaching the age of 21, a city spokeswoman said.
But charter schools set their own suspension rules and don't report expulsion data -- although experts believe thousands of difficult students are dumped every year to public
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