The Buffalo Public Schools ad hoc committee on suspensions said it narrowed its initial scope to focus on pre‑K through third‑grade discipline and drafted revisions after surveying stakeholders. Doctor Brown, who led the presentation, said the group "narrow[ed] down or pair[ed] down to very clear objective[s]" and focused on "PK through 3." The committee reported a two‑week survey in May that drew 1,657 responses from students, parents, teachers and administrators and used those results to recommend changes to policy language.

Why it matters: The committee's work targets early‑grade removals, an area board members flagged as having outsize impact on instructional continuity and equity. The panel reported that the district removed vague language from the code of conduct approved for the 2025–26 school year and is working on collaborative language for a pre‑K–3 policy change to present to the superintendent and board.

Committee process and findings: Doctor Brown said the ad hoc group met four times between April and June with a mix of in‑person and virtual meetings and included board members, union representatives, district student support services, restorative‑justice and legal partners, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Parent Congress and student representatives. The committee formed a survey subcommittee; that survey, promoted with robocalls and emails, remained open about two weeks in May, yielding 1,657 total responses. According to the Office of Shared Accountability, the response rate was higher than typical district surveys.

Survey breakdowns presented to the board showed different views by stakeholder group. Doctor Brown summarized results for each constituency: teachers and principals largely preferred maintaining current suspension policy (about 72–79%); parents were nearly evenly split with 49% seeking change (29% favoring elimination, 20% favoring conditional suspensions); and students reported the strongest desire for change (about 70% of student respondents wanted change, including 20% favoring elimination and 50% favoring conditional suspensions). Doctor Brown said the ad hoc group reached a "majority consensus on the pre k to 3 policy language," while noting one union leader proposed alternative wording for part of the policy.

Next steps and timeline: The committee plans to reconvene in September to review revised language and to solicit feedback from a principal advisory council in the third week of September. Doctor Brown said the superintendent, Superintendent Mvanga, will be asked to approve posting the proposed policy to the Board of Education for review and approval. The committee also formed an implementation team that will meet through the school year to identify supports, monitor office‑discipline referrals and review suspension data. Board members emphasized consultation with parents and students and additional stakeholder engagement before any final board action.

What was not decided: The committee reported agreement around drafting and vetting new language but did not present a board motion or vote adopting a final policy at the work session. Doctor Brown and board members described the matter as ongoing; the district will present updated language to the superintendent for potential posting to the board agenda.

Voices in the session: Board Member McKechnick said the survey "caused us to sit and really, get grounded in the reality" that stakeholders are not uniform on the issue. Board Member Woods urged keeping parents and students central: "we owe it to the parents and the students to come up with something that they respect." Superintendent Mvanga thanked the committee and said he "cannot wait to see what's the recommendation is going to be, and then we're gonna have to do work with, our school administrators as well as our teachers so that we can move these, numbers forward."

Bottom line: The district's ad hoc committee has translated multi‑stakeholder meetings and a 1,657‑response survey into draft policy language and a calendar for further review; the board will receive revised language this fall but no final board vote occurred at the session.