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Resident urges board to address high share of suspensions among students with IEPs
Summary
Resident Chris Dunfee presented FOIA data showing high proportions of out‑of‑school suspensions involving students with IEPs or Section 504 plans across multiple grades and urged better staff training; the board acknowledged the comment and no immediate corrective action was announced.
Chris Dunfee, a Victor resident, used a Freedom of Information request to present data he said show a disproportionately high share of out‑of‑school suspensions involved students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or Section 504 plans.
Dunfee gave grade‑level counts: he said all three grade‑2 suspensions were students with IEP/504 plans; in several junior‑high grades he reported that every out‑of‑school suspension involved a student with an IEP or 504 plan; he cited similar concentrations across other grade levels and said he saw “a 100%” pattern in many of those grades. He told the board he had hoped to see improvement since bringing the issue to the board 18 months earlier and asked the board to require more training for staff and administrators in handling students with special needs.
The board thanked Dunfee for the data and the comment; no immediate action item, data correction, or staff response with alternate numbers was presented during the meeting. Superintendent Tim Terranova and other staff later discussed broader student‑support efforts — including Panorama data‑tracking and interventions focused on attendance and academic access — but did not provide a district‑issued suspension breakdown or timeline for a formal response in this session.
Dunfee concluded by requesting that the board act and by noting he will return with follow‑up requests if needed.
