Orange County Schools presents midyear discipline and attendance report; officials outline tiered supports

District staff presented midyear discipline and attendance data to the Orange County Board of Education on Jan. 13, covering July through the last week of December 2024. The report included enrollment by demographic, office referrals and suspension counts, Panorama social-emotional learning survey results and a tiered set of supports for students.

Dr. Tanesha Lanier (Student Services) explained that the district’s data are captured in the Educator Handbook system, which is used as a catchall for both minor and major referrals. "Educators Handbook is a system that is used for all schools to keep track of both minor and major referrals," Lanier said, adding that the data reviewed reflect July through December because Hillsborough Elementary operates on a year-round calendar.

Lanier reported enrollment at the time of the data pull was 7,048 students, down from 7,136 for the same period in 2023. She gave demographic breakdowns: white students 46.7%, Black students 14.1%, Hispanic students 29.6%, multiracial 7.2%, Asian 2.04% and indigenous 0.3%.

Lanier said referrals and suspensions have decreased in many demographic groups but noted increases for males and multiracial students and that Black students’ suspension rate has decreased to 6.8% from a baseline of 9% (the board’s strategic-plan goal is to reduce it to 3% by 2026). She said 36 students across 13 schools received two or more out-of-school suspensions during the period (down one student from last year).

Dr. Sarah Dreyer (Equity and Student Achievement) reviewed results from the Panorama social-emotional learning survey. Dreyer said administrators changed the survey from an opt-out to an opt-in format last year and response rates fell; staff then modified the questionnaire and restored an opt-out administration for 4th–12th grades this year, removing grade 3 and certain questions to comply with the Parent Bill of Rights. "We were able to then redo the survey as an opt out, and so approximately 100 students opted out... our response rate district wide grades 4 through 12 increased back to 75.1%," she said.

Presenters described tiered supports: Tier 1 classroom-based teaching and universal strategies; Tier 2 targeted small groups and school-based interventions led by SEL teams; Tier 3 district-led interventions for students with multiple suspensions. Lanier described Boomerang’s STRIVE program for secondary students: Boomerang serves grades 6–12, requires a minimum three-day suspension for referral, and requires parental opt-in; transportation is provided.

Board members asked detailed questions about how referrals are recorded, how attendance can appear as an office referral and how high-school absenteeism is measured by class period (which increases counts compared with counting full days). Several board members suggested additional cross-tabulations: intersectional breakdowns (race, gender, EC status), year-to-year comparisons, and linking wraparound service usage to attendance outcomes.

Staff said they will continue targeted professional learning for principals and school teams, generate consistent report templates for school improvement teams, and triangulate behavioral, attendance and academic data to identify students needing interventions.