Report: Time to End Harmful, Exclusionary School Discipline Policies
By Mary Ellen Flannery
It’s beyond time to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, concludes an authoritative report released this week by the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, in collaboration with NEA and hundreds of other student advocacy groups, professional organizations, and practitioners.Millions of students are removed from their classrooms every year, and overwhelmingly for minor disciplinary infractions. Those students are far more likely to fall behind, drop out, and eventually land in the juvenile justice system—and they’re also disproportionately students of color, students with disabilities, or students who identify as LGBT.
These harmful, exclusionary practices must end, according to “The School Discipline Consensus Report,”released Tuesday by the CSG Justice Center, which offers a roadmap of recommendations to reduce student suspensions, expulsions, and arrests, and provide “conditions for learning wherein all students feel safe, welcome, and supported.”
“We applaud the CSG Justice Center for its leadership in tackling the school discipline and school-to-prison problems,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “If coupled with the tools and resources educators need to get the job done, many of these recommendations can move us towards improving graduation rates, closing the achievement gaps, and keeping kids out of the juvenile justice system.”
The data shows clearly that change is needed: Black, Hispanic, and American Indian students are suspended at sometimes double the rate of their White peers; 20 percent of students with disabilities were suspended in a single school year, compared to 10 percent of students without disabilities; and LGBT students are three times more likely to be harshly disciplined than their heterosexual peers, according to the report.
To create a welcoming and secure learning environment for all students, the report offers more than 50 Report: Time to End Harmful, Exclusionary School Discipline Policies | NEA Today: