NEW YORK, NY January 24, 2008 —REPORTER: The Department of Education is abusing its power to suspend thousands of children.

That's what student advocates and civil liberty groups told a City Council panel yesterday.

Committees on Education and Civil Rights are looking into charges that the DOE resorts too quickly to suspension and that often, those students and their parents are unaware of their rights in the process.

Donna Heinken is a staff attorney with Legal Aid. She told the panel severe suspension penalties should be reserved for the most serious infractions.

HEINKEN: In our experience, superintendents' suspension are often imposed for much less infractions by students. The disciplinary code allows for superintendents suspension in any number of circumstances, including for something as monitor as throwing a piece of chalk.

REPORTER: A DOE spokesperson defended its disciplinary process, saying repeat suspensions were very rare and that it has a citywide network of Alternate Learning Centers to help suspended students.

According to the latest estimate, close to 27,000 public school students were suspended out of 1.1 million students attending public school.