Chalk Beat – Patrick Wall
“The number of school suspensions fell by 17 percent last academic year as the city shifts away from that more punitive approach to discipline, yet schools continued to suspend black students and those with disabilities at disproportionately high rates. Schools gave out about 9,000 fewer suspensions in 2014-15 than in the previous academic year, according to city education department data released Friday. In addition, arrests by school security officers dropped by 27 percent, and summonses fell by 15 percent, officials said. The declines come as the city has ordered educators to rely less on removing disruptive students from school and more on addressing the causes of their misbehavior. But while schools suspended fewer students from almost every group, certain groups continue to be suspended at disproportionate rates.”(more)