Schools look to alternatives for out-of- school suspensions

A number of cities and states across the country have implemented bans on the suspension or expulsion of younger students for nonviolent behaviors. Ohio could be next. With the recent passage of the SAFE Act, Ohio school districts may have to review and amend their discipline policies to be in compliance with the new law which will go into effect later this year.

However, it has been broken down into transition phases that will span the next three school years. This allows time for schools to apply for grant money to put Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports and mental health supports in place. The SAFE Act budgets $2 million from the Ohio Lottery Fund for training and positive behavior-supported curriculum. School districts can access these funds through a competitive grant program.

“We are asking schools to change their culture. This doesn’t happen over night,” said state Sen. and education chair Peggy Lehner, RMontgomery. “If you expect it to happen too quickly you are inviting failure. We expect we will see the number of suspensions going down but not immediately.

The SAFE Act, introduced by Lehner which was signed into law as part of H.B. 318 by Gov. John Kasich on Aug. 3, focuses on the suspension and expulsion of students from prekindergarten through third grade.

Lehner decided to sponsor the bill after spending four years looking at early child hood education and the importance of getting children off on the right foot.

According to Lehner it was during her research that the questions of discipline came around.

“It immediately struck me how can a child be out of school for three, five or 10 days at a time and keep up academically,” Lehner said.

She also started to question the impact an out-ofschool suspension would have on the child and found nothing good comes out of it.

“It just impacts the education and leaves the child further left behind and with a negative impression on school,” the senator said.

According to Lehner when she started her research four years ago very few states had legislation on the books regarding suspension of the younger students, but by the time her bill passed at least 10 other states have some sort of legislation regarding suspension.

Approximately 36,000 pre-kindergarten through third-grade students in Ohio were suspended during the 2015-16 school year. According to Lehner over 80 percent of those were for disruptive non-violent behaviors.

According to a joint statement from the U.S. Education and Health and Human Services departments: “Suspension and expulsion can influence a number of adverse outcomes across development, health, and education. Young students who are expelled or suspended are as much as 10 times more likely to drop out of high school, experience academic failure and grade retention, hold negative school attitudes, and face incarceration than those who are not.”

The Policy Statement on Expulsion and Suspension in Early Childhood Settings also states that children who are suspended earlier on are more prone to face additional suspensions later in school.

There are schools who are already working to put alternative discipline solutions into to place.

Euclid Schools report a decrease in the amount of out-of-school suspension after they started using PBIS.

“The Euclid City Schools began implementation of PBIS in 2015. Its philosophy is to pro-actively model and encourage positive behaviors and interactions, rather than instilling punitive reactions to behavioral issues exhibited while in the school setting,” said school board member Donna Sudar. “Our PBIS initiative therefore is in direct support of the SAFE Act.”

Sudar also noted that during the 2016-17 school year, The Early Learning Center, Chardon Hills, Arbor and Bluestone elementary schools received PBIS state recognition for the use of best practices in implementing it in their schools.

She also noted that the Euclid Schools are committed to expanding the PBIS program in continued efforts to bolster increasing positive behaviors in their schools.

The Willoughby-Eastlake School District, according to Superintendent Steve Thompson, is using tools and techniques to work with students to eliminate behaviors that are unacceptable in the school setting.

In-school suspension was piloted in the district during the 2017-18 school year and will continue in 201819.

“This is a program that keeps the students in the school building and enables us to reinforce positive behaviors, review negative behaviors, teach alternate solutions to negative behaviors and then follow the students to ensure that they continue on a positive path,” Thompson said.

He also said that during the 2018-19 school year, in addition to the behavioral supports in place, school teachers and counselors will be working with the students while they are in in-school suspension to provide academic support which will make it possible for the students to remain on target with classroom assignments.

Thompson believes that anytime a student is out of the classroom they suffer a loss to their academic, social and emotional growth.

“If we can assist students and their families by offering a more positive solution to traditional out-of-school suspension, we know that this will help to eliminate negative choices, increase time on task and improve the overall educational process,” Thompson said. “We will continue to use this type of intervention whenever possible, however, if a behavior displayed in our schools is dangerous to others or disruptive to the educational process, W-E has procedures and polices in place to remove students from the school setting.”

The Painesville School District has a policy that does not currently restrict the use of suspension by age or grade level, but the district’s policy will be revised to reflect new changes in the law, according to Matthew Pfouts, the district’s communication specialist.

Pfouts doesn’t believe the SAFE act will likely have a substantial impact on the district’s operations due to the fact they have been working for some time to find alternatives to suspension.

“We have had a great deal of success in significantly reducing the number of suspensions districtwide while still maintaining a safe environment,” he said. “We have utilized suspension for our youngest students very judiciously and only as a last resort. These students are suspended when they pose a safety risk to themselves or others

Pfouts notes that disciplinary decisions are made based on what is best for both the individual student and the other students in the classroom and that removal is necessarily only relatively rare circumstances.

“Alternatives to suspension such as counseling and behavioral services do require access to resources, and we are always seeking to improve, so we are certainly interested in the grant support which accompanies the bill,” Pfouts said.