New York Seeks to Ban Suspensions for Youngest Students

In an effort to reduce overly punitive school discipline practices, and better address racial disparities in suspensions and school arrests, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday announced new school safety changes.

The city plans to eliminate suspensions of children in kindergarten through second grade (suspensions of pre-kindergarten students were previously banned), and instead encourage schools to use more restorative practices, like counseling.

The city also issued protocols on how a school community could apply to have a metal detector removed from, or added to, a school building.

And the city released an expanded version of its school safety data, showing the demographic breakdown of arrests and summonses along with when handcuffs were used to restrain a student.

“Today’s reforms ensure that school environments are safe and structured. The reforms also empower educators and families with more data and greater clarity on school safety policies,” de Blasio said in a statement.

The proposed changes come after years of advocating by community groups and elected officials to reduce disparities in disciplinary practices, since black and Latino students as well as students with disabilities have disproportionately high suspension rates. They expand upon changes to the disciplinary code made in 2015, and largely follow recommendations made by a mayoral task force on school climate and discipline which released a final report earlier this month. 

“It is time for us, as a city, to have an honest conversation about the impact of punitive school discipline, and we applaud our leaders for committing to tracking and releasing comprehensive data about school climate," said Maryanne Kiley, executive director of the teacher group Educators for Excellence-New York, in a statement.

The city said it would invest $47 million annually to support the changes, including adding mental health services to 50 schools.

But principals have expressed worry that — while eliminating suspensions for young children may be age appropriate — the city does not have a robust enough plan to fund the restorative measures needed to replace suspensions. 

"If we're eliminating suspensions for children who have serious emotional outbursts that necessitate removing them from a classroom for the good of the teacher and the class, there has to be another stop-gap measure of support," said Katherine Moloney, principal of P.S. 100 The Coney Island School. 

Moloney's union, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, issued a strongly-worded statement in opposition to the city's proposal. 

"Under these reforms, principals would be stripped of disciplinary tools before measures, like restorative justice training, and necessary personnel, i.e. counselors and psychiatrists, are in place to offer chronically misbehaving students the services they need to modify their behavior."

The teachers union also opposed the plan.  

The city must hold a public hearing on the proposed change to the discipline code. Education officials said that hearing would likely happen within the next few weeks.