Hartford Public Schools ( Hps ) Implements Exclusionary...

Background Hartford Public Schools (HPS) implements exclusionary discipline practices such as out-of-school suspension and expulsion, with 43310 student school days lost to discipline in 2009-2010. This loss of school time fell disproportionately and excessively against Black students, especially males. In the 2009-2010 school year, 52.3 percent of Black students and 64.8 percent of Black males enrolled in K-12 schools in HPS faced suspension or expulsion at least once compared to only 16.3 percent for white students and 21 percent for white males. Several studies in varied contexts across the United States show that a higher frequency or more serious level of misbehavior by Black students cannot entirely explain the racial disparities†¦show more content†¦Studies have also found a correlation between exclusionary discipline and (1) increased school avoidance, (2) decreased academic engagement, (3) an increased rate of dropouts, (4) increased behavioral problems, and (5) increased involvement with the juvenile justice system. School administrators have the right to want to develop a safe climate for their students and teachers and remove threats from their schools. However, serious threats from students are rare. Nearly 60 percent of the suspensions and expulsions administered in HPS in 2009-2010 were administered for school policy violations—a category that includes things like insubordination, profanity, sleeping in class, and truancy—not serious safety concerns like violence against others or weapon s. Schools are more effective when students feel that they belong and can engage in the learning process. Schools are safer when teachers and administrators have strategies and training to prevent and manage conflicts and misbehavior. A policy to ensure that students are not unfairly at risk for suspension because of their race and have the equal educational opportunities to which they are entitled by federal law will prevent, recognize, and rectify the overuse and inequality of exclusionary discipline. Prevent the Use of Suspension and Expulsion The first component of a policy to reduce the number of