Out or In?

Teachers May Not Want To Reduce Number Of Out-Of-School Suspensions, Survey Suggests

The Huffington Post
By:  Rebecca Klein
7/31/14

Many school superintendents say they want to reduce the numbers of school suspensions for students, but teachers may be standing in their way.

A new survey out this week from The School Superintendents Association, in collaboration with the Children’s Defense Fund, takes a look at how district leaders feel about school discipline practices. The survey solicited information from 500 school superintendents across the country who work in districts of differing sizes and varying student populations.

According to the survey, about half of superintendents said they strongly want to reduce expulsions and out-of-school suspensions (OSS) during their time in leadership. However, if they were to take official action in doing so, 72 percent would expect pushback from teachers and 57 percent would expect opposition from principals. At the same time, a majority of superintendents said they would expect support from parents and students.

The survey comes months after the Obama administration issued guidelines to reduce unfair suspension practices that disproportionately impact minority students and discouraged districts from employing zero-tolerance discipline policies that perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline.

“A routine school disciplinary infraction should land a student in the principal’s office, not in a police precinct,” Attorney General Eric Holder said at the time, according to PBS.

Read more HERE.