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Committee reviews end‑of‑year suspension data showing disparities by race, requests deeper breakdowns
Summary
Committee members reviewed district suspension charts showing disproportionate suspension and expulsion rates for Black students, requested disaggregation by gender, special education status and grade, and discussed restorative practices, coaching and grant applications to reduce suspensions.
Committee members reviewed end‑of‑year suspension and expulsion data that staff presented as bar graphs showing disproportionality by race. Committee leadership said the charts indicated that suspension and expulsion rates for Black students — particularly Black males — exceeded their share of enrollment, and members asked staff to provide additional disaggregation by gender, special education status and grade level for the next meeting.
Staff noted two missing elements in the materials presented: a gender split for suspension counts and a special education breakout. Committee members asked staff to prepare those cross-tabulations and to include multilingual learners where relevant.
The committee discussed current and planned interventions: administrator professional learning on challenging behaviors and restorative practices (with a second restorative training tentatively set for January 14), school culture and climate surveys, a revised student handbook and code of conduct, embedded coaching for teachers through CT Catalyst funded by school improvement and commissioner grants, and a Connecticut diversion initiative application for all three comprehensive high schools aimed at reducing suspensions and expulsions.
Why it matters: the committee framed the disparity as a district problem to be measured more finely and addressed through training, targeted coaching and grant‑funded interventions. Staff said they will bring disaggregated suspension figures (gender, special education status, grade and school) to the next committee meeting so members can examine patterns and potential program responses.
No formal motion was made; the committee directed staff to return with the requested data and to continue pursuing the diversion grant and embedded coaching strategies.
