Just Say NO to Out of School Suspensions

The Dignity in Schools Campaign has launched the call for a moratorium of out of school suspensions along their partners around the country.  Solutions not Suspensions is a powerful campaign -- to get districts to just say no to any out of school suspensions.

YTFG focuses on older youth so let me take a moment to remind you dear readers that the trends towards suspending children of color starts early -- in Pre-K. The recent report from U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights found that black children make-up 18%of preschool enrollment, but 48% of preschool children suspended more than once. Boys receive more than three out of four out-of-school preschool suspensions. Now I don't even understand why a pre-school is suspending a child at all. The fact that they are doing so in a way that demonstrates patterns of institutional racism calls into question if children of color are also receiving lower quality services within the school when they are allowed to be there.


At least two cities have already started to demand a moratorium on out-of-school suspensions. Racial Justice Now of Dayton, Ohio is very savvy, focusing their attention on the moratorium of out-of-school suspensions on K-3 and a moratorium of out-of -school suspensions for minor behavioral infractions in the upper grades.


Although Dayton Public Schools has  made some movement in the right direction by investing in restorative justice practices, Racial Justice Now wants the push-out policies to end immediately. Once you see the rates of suspension  it's no wonder. According to Dignity in Schools, DPS has a rate of 45 out-of-school suspensions per 100 students, almost four times the state rate of 12.6%. During the 2011- 2012 school year, 70% of out-of-school suspensions were for disobedient/disruptive behavior and use of tobacco on school grounds. DPS has suspended kindergartners for "harrassment and intimidation". FYI - only the black kids were suspended for that reason.  The school board has committed to bringing a decision forward by June 17th.

In Oregon, Portland Parent Union (PPU) launched a campaign calling on Portland Public Schools to declare a moratorium on out-of-school suspensions. According to Dignity in Schools, after years of organizing to change exclusionary discipline policies, PPU has struggled to get a public response from the School Board. However, after the launch of the campaign, PPU held a trust circle where parents shared their stories and four School Board members attended, including the board chair. Administrators, teacher union representatives, and other community advocates also attended. The School Board, superintendent and union have since agreed to work with PPU to discuss the moratorium and revising the Code of Conduct.

I think the use of well-designed moratoriums can be powerful for those of focusing on older youth as well. We tend to focus on positive policies -- trying to get districts or public systems to do something. If we frame it as getting them to stop -- stop denying kids access to education, stop sending kids to the police for normal teenage behavior -- it's easier to create a campaign that opens the doors to discussion.