Parents, educators press board to end out-of-school suspensions and seclusion for young students

A string of public commenters at the board’s May meeting urged the district to stop suspending young children and to expand specialized instructional support services instead.

Speakers said out-of-school suspensions for kindergarten through second grade are counterproductive and that children in those grades should receive in-school interventions and support from counselors, social workers and other student support personnel. Several commenters cited data they said show a large number of short-term suspensions among very young learners and described those suspensions as harmful to learning and linked to worse long-term outcomes.

Teacher and specialist speakers asked the board to examine policies governing seclusion and restraint and to ensure spaces used for seclusion meet regulatory requirements. A former special education teacher and board-certified behavior analyst asked whether students age 5–7 had been secluded this school year and where those spaces are located; she urged the board to revise regulation 4302R and eliminate seclusion for young children.

Public commenters also pushed the board to provide more school counselors, social workers and other specialized instructional support personnel so that young students who present challenging behavior can receive skill-building services rather than out-of-school suspension. Multiple speakers referenced Board policy 6,000 (support services) and asked the board to follow the policy’s intent to provide social-emotional and mental-health interventions.

Board members heard requests but did not adopt new disciplinary policy at the meeting. Several speakers asked the board to enforce the attendance policy (4,400) by avoiding out-of-school suspensions that remove students from instruction. One commenter said, “Stop suspending 5, 6, and 7 year olds,” and cited the student code of conduct’s definition of assault as behavior that can be addressed with in-school suspension and supportive services rather than exclusion.

What the meeting showed: a broad public push to shift the district’s response to challenging early-grade behavior away from exclusion and toward in-school interventions and support services. Trustees did not vote on disciplinary policy changes at the meeting; speakers requested specific programmatic and policy follow-ups, including review of seclusion practices and clearer public reporting on suspensions and support staffing.