Shawnee Mission: Middle‑school discipline referrals rise while suspensions fall to three‑year low

Shawnee Mission School District officials told the school board that most students receive no formal discipline referrals, but middle school students account for a disproportionate share of entries into the district’s discipline system.

Dr. Dan Grueman, the district’s director of assessment and research, told the board that “almost 80 percent of our students never receive a discipline referral” and that the most serious disciplinary actions remain “extremely, extremely rare.” He said the district’s Skyward discipline module and a district discipline matrix — substantially revised several years ago — are being used to track and respond to behavior trends.

The report said: about 79.8 percent of students had no recorded referrals in 2023, falling slightly to about 78.6 percent this year; roughly 9 percent of students had a single referral; about 3.5 percent had two; and about 6 percent had more than three. Referral frequency rises sharply in middle school and then decreases after ninth grade. District staff also reported that the number of level‑1 referrals (minor classroom incidents) and level‑2 referrals has increased the last three years while level‑3 and level‑4 incidents have decreased. Overall suspension events are at a three‑year low and the average days per suspension has remained roughly 1.5–1.6 days per instance.

Grueman added that the district has introduced a new referral code, added in February, specifically for personal device violations tied to the updated device policy. He described level‑1 increases as partially the result of better classroom‑level documentation: “I view that much of this information optimistically as these are really indicators that staff are working to enforce behavioral expectations,” he said.

The presentation broke down referrals and suspensions by demographic groups. Students with one or more referrals were more likely to be male and economically disadvantaged than the overall student population: among students with one or more referral the presenter reported roughly 15 percent identified as Black, 29 percent Hispanic, 47 percent White, and 54 percent qualifying for free or reduced‑price lunch (compared with district population proportions). The district counted about 40 discipline hearings this school year — hearings are required when long‑term suspension or expulsion is being considered — out of a population of roughly 26,000 students across 50 campuses.

Board members asked whether the district can compare its data with other districts. Grueman said state reporting provides only a limited set of comparable measures and warned that reporting practices vary, which complicates direct comparisons. Pam Lewis, associate superintendent, said the district will prioritize interventions for students with multiple major referrals and noted the work of action teams aligned to the district strategic plan. Lewis said the district’s “wildly important goals” for next year will include targeted support for students who have multiple in‑school or out‑of‑school suspensions.

Board members and staff discussed next steps, including continued emphasis on restorative practices, vertical planning between elementary and middle school to ease transitions, and monitoring the effects of extracurricular engagement on discipline patterns. Several board members praised the long‑running tracking effort as a tool for improving practice and for identifying where individualized supports are needed.

District staff said the discipline data inform work on the strategic plan areas of belonging and social‑emotional supports and that the district will continue to refine definitions, documentation, and interventions to reduce escalations from minor to major incidents.

The update was presented during the May 20 board meeting; no formal board action was taken on the discipline report itself.