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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, described a first‑grade boy who had been repeatedly suspended until he was placed in a specialized program; after placement he “excelled” and “started learning how to read.” McIntyre said the boy’s grandmother lost work when she repeatedly left early to retrieve him.
Nadia Romanazi of Mass Appleseed called the bill “a critical step” to disrupt what she called a preschool‑to‑prison pipeline, citing research that early exclusions are linked to worse long‑term outcomes. Leon Smith of Citizens for Juvenile Justice told the committee that, based on the most recent Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) data the group had reviewed (school year 2022‑23), pre‑K through third grade students lost nearly 3,000 days of instruction to exclusionary discipline and that the number of lost days rises markedly between pre‑K and third grade.
Supporters asked the committee to limit the ban to routine suspensions under chapter 71 and to preserve school authority to address serious, expellable conduct. "The end of third grade is arguably the most critical point in the child's education," Smith said, noting research that students not reading proficiently by the end of third grade are more likely to drop out and face other negative outcomes.
Witnesses urged alternatives to exclusionary discipline such as restorative practices, strengthened social‑emotional supports and early special‑education identification. Several witnesses pointed to Boston Public Schools as an example: Boston has restricted suspensions for its youngest learners and advocates said that precedent shows districts can manage behavior without routinely removing children from classrooms.
Committee members asked for additional data showing which districts have the highest rates of early exclusion and for breakdowns by race and gender; advocates offered to provide written data. No committee vote on H541/S373 was taken at the hearing.
