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Schenectady school leaders present suspension data showing persistent racial disparities; board requests further drill‑downs
Summary
District staff told the Schenectady City School District Board on Dec. 3 that overall suspensions have edged downward in places but that Black students and students with disabilities remain disproportionately represented; board members pressed for building‑level and intervention‑outcome data and agreed to discuss a possible audit.
Assistant Superintendent Andrea Tope told the Schenectady City School District Board on Dec. 3 that the district has made incremental reductions in suspension rates but that disparities persist, especially for Black students and students with disabilities.
"We have been successful in making some incremental reductions in percentages each year," Tope said during a presentation that compared multi‑year and quarter‑to‑date figures. Tope said the district’s quarter‑one suspension rate currently stands at about 16.2 percent and added that the district uses a relative‑risk ratio to identify disproportionality; the district’s goal is to keep relative risk below 2 and as close to 1 as possible.
The presentation showed 3,025 incidents involving 1,386 students in the 2024–25 school year, and, for quarter 1 this year, elementary schools recorded 76 short‑term suspension incidents involving 67 students. Tope said longer suspensions and superintendent hearings (six or more days) decreased from 59 incidents and 79 students in last year’s quarter 1 to 41 incidents and 53 students this year’s quarter 1.
"Black students are suspended at nearly twice the…
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