Suspensions hurt students now — and in the future

All children deserve safe schools where they can have supportive and respectful relationships with teachers and staff. We know that when students receive the guidance to learn from their mistakes, our whole community benefits.

Unfortunately, too many children are subjected to overly harsh punishment that forces them out of school. That’s why advocates are calling on New York lawmakers to pass a bill called the Judith S. Kaye Solutions Not Suspensions Act.

Suspending students from school is an outdated form of discipline that causes a lot of harm — and Black and brown children, as well as students with disabilities, are much more likely to suffer. Removing students from the school environment makes them more likely to fall behind academically, and it starts a chain reaction that makes them more likely to be held back a grade, drop out of high school, and become incarcerated as an adult.

Data collected by the New York Civil Liberties Union shows that Black and multiracial students are twice as likely to receive an out-ofschool suspension than students from other ethnic and racial demographics, regardless of the similarity of behavior. Unconscious bias plays a role in why adults are more likely to see Black youth as older and behaving with more intention, rather than young people who’ve made a mistake and are in need of support to learn better.

The Solutions Not Suspensions Act would end the reliance on suspensions to discipline students and establish a framework to use proven methods, including restorative practices and mental health counseling, that hold students accountable and help them learn from their mistakes while keeping them in the classroom. If passed, there are three

important things the bill would change.

First, it would eliminate suspensions for children in kindergarten to third grade. Removal from the school environment hurts all children, but young children fall behind faster and need alternatives that keep them in the classroom as much as possible. Second, the bill would reduce the length of maximum suspensions from 180 days, which is an entire school year, to 20 days, which is about one month of school. Third, it would provide academic instruction to those students who are suspended, to help them keep up with their schoolwork and ensure a smoother transition back into the classroom.

Most importantly, the Solutions Not Suspensions Act calls upon all New York state schools, including private and charter schools, to incorporate proven alternatives that create a school climate based on accountability, cooperation, and trust. This is a big culture shift and a needed one, especially for Black and brown children and those with disabilities.

For seven years, this bill has been introduced in the New York state Legislature, but it has not received enough support to make it to the floor for a vote. This year we have to change that, because our children deserve better.

New York must take action to ensure every student has an equal opportunity to succeed. Suspending struggling youth only compounds the underlying issues that cause them to act out. Punishing poverty and trauma just perpetuates the cycle of both. We must pass legislation that ensures resources are used for our students’ success, and that includes counselors, social workers and mentors — adults who can help steer kids in the right direction.

There are proven alternatives that support the healthy growth and maturity of young people, who are still learning how to handle emotional and mental challenges. The Legislature must pass the Solutions Not Suspensions bill in 2023 to ensure equity for all students and create safer, more supportive school environments.