Page 105 - Impact: Collected Essays on the Threat of Economic Inequality

Further, there is a clear link between suspensions and children who require special education . Black students with special needs face the highest suspension rate of all groups .27 In fact, zero tolerance extends to even the youngest children in the New York City educational system . In the 2010-2011 school year, ninety-three four-year-olds were suspended, and a third of them had an individualized education plan .28 Even though the rate of New York City school suspensions has decreased in the past few years, the existing rate of suspensions evidences a need to reexamine the approaches to learning and to discipline .29 Individuals and organizations, including the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Dignity in Schools campaign, have long advocated for significant changes in the disciplinary code and its implementation . Notably, there have been proposals to change or delete B-21, the “insubordination” provision, from the code .30 In spring 2015, there were changes to the disciplinary code in the definition of B-21 as well as changes to require schools to get approval from the Department of Education before authorizing a suspension and requiring the Police Department to track the use of handcuffs .31 There is hope that the 2015 changes are “just a start .”32
Once a student has been suspended, the student’s chances of dropping out or entering the criminal justice system increase drastically .33 With each subsequent suspension, the chances increase .34 When youth are jailed and put into detention centers, they develop or exacerbate a negative self image that they are “bad,” worthless, and incapable of change . Once court involved, it is difficult for any youth to break that negative cycle without coordinated and targeted services to address each individual’s specific and unique needs . A punitive model of juvenile detention
27 Id. at 1.
28 Id. at 24.
29 Beth Fertig, New York City Schools Chief Outlines Discipline Changes That Scale Back Suspensions, wnyc (Feb. 13, 2015), http://www.wnyc.org/story/schools-chancellor-proposes-ways-reduce-suspensions/.
30 Fact Sheet: School Discipline and The Pushout Problem, digniTy in schs., http://www.dignityinschools.org/files/ DSC_Pushout_Fact_Sheet.pdf (nationally “[t]he majority of suspensions are for minor misbehavior, including ‘disruptive behavior,’ ‘insubordination,’ or school fights, which can be interpreted in subjective and biased ways (even unintentional)”) (citing russell skiBa eT al, are zero Tolerance policies effecTive in The schools? a reporT By The american psychological associaTion Task force (2006); a, B, c, d, sTpp, supra note 23. The pre-2015 B-21 infraction is for “Defying or disobeying the lawful authority or directive of school personnel or school safety agents in a way that substantially disrupts the educational process.” The April 2015 B-21 infraction is “Defying or disobeying the lawful authority or directive of school personnel or school safety agents in a way that substantially disrupts the educational process and/or poses a danger to the school community.” nyc dep’T of educaTion, ciTywide sTandards of inTervenTion and discipline measures 25 (2013), available at http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/188AF3E2-F12B- 4754-8471-F2EFB344AE2B/0/DiscCodebooklet2013final.pdf. The 2015 revision indicates that this behavior does not include uncooperative/noncompliant or disorderly such as using profane language or wearing prohibited clothing or bringing prohibited items to school. nyc dep’T of educaTion, ciTywide Behavioral expecTaTions To supporT sTudenT learning 28 (2015), available at http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/CD69C859-524C-43E1-AF25-C49543974BBF/0/ DiscCodebookletApril2015FINAL.pdf .
31 Elizabeth A. Harris, Suspension Rules Altered in New York City’s Revision of School Discipline Code, N.Y. Times, Feb. 13, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/14/nyregion/suspension-rules-altered-in-new-york-citys-revision- of-school-discipline-code.html?_r=0.
32 Id. (quoting Kim Sweet, Director, Advocates for Children).
33 Rachel Wilf, Disparities in School Discipline Move Students of Color Toward Prison, cenTer for american progress (Mar.13, 2012), https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11350/disparities-in-school-discipline- move-students-of-color-toward-prison/; see also safe qualiTy schools, a program of The advancemenT proJecT (last visited Mar. 31, 2015), available at http://safequalityschools.org/.
34 Id.
Lessons from New York City
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