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Advocates Tell Committee to Ban Suspensions for Pre-K Through Third Grade to Keep Children in Class
Summary
Attorneys, child advocates and juvenile-justice groups urged the Joint Committee on Education to back H541/S373, a bill that would prohibit suspensions and expulsions for students in pre-kindergarten through grade three, citing disproportionate impacts and research linking early exclusion to long-term harm.
Supporters of H541/S373 told the Joint Committee on Education that suspending or expelling very young learners removes critical instructional time and disproportionately harms students of color, low‑income children and students with disabilities.
"When kids at this age act out many times, it is not out of malice or ill intent. It is because they have unmet needs, trauma, or developmental delays," said a representative of the American Federation of Teachers, Massachusetts, urging the committee to keep youngest learners in class. Elizabeth McIntyre, an attorney with the Ed Law Project of the Committee for Public Counsel Services,…
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