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Trustees debate revisions to suspension policies that advocates say weaken protections for students with disabilities
Summary
Board members and community advocates told trustees that proposed edits to policies 73-13 and 73-15 remove trauma-informed, equity-centered language and could normalize exclusionary discipline; the draft policies will return to the advisory committee for revision and further board review.
At the Jan. 14 Schenectady City School District board meeting trustees reviewed proposed revisions to three discipline-related policies, including policy 73-13 (student suspension) and 73-15 (students presumed to have a disability for discipline purposes). Community speakers and several trustees warned that the draft language weakens previously adopted trauma-informed and equity-centered protections.
"The proposed policy changes do the opposite" of strengthening protections, board member Jamaica said, arguing the draft removes explicit language that suspension is a severe, punitive measure and deletes research-based wording that calls suspension ineffective and harmful. Jamaica said adding the word "research" elsewhere did not preserve the original guardrails and that the district should preserve language that explicitly acknowledges the school-to-prison pipeline and prioritizes keeping students in class.
Other board members called for clearer, less duplicative wording and for stronger, concrete language about collaboration with the Committee on Special Education when a student with a disability faces potential suspension. Deputy Superintendent Joe DiCaprio described the advisory committee process: committee members and executive leadership vet drafts, provide feedback, and return recommended changes to the full board; he said the committee meets monthly and that the policy drafts in front of the board are advisory and subject to revision.
Board members and committee staff agreed to return the drafts to the policy advisory committee for further edits. No formal vote on policy adoption took place; the board is expected to review revised language at a future meeting and schedule subsequent readings if necessary.
The discussion came in the immediate aftermath of public comment about an alleged restraint incident involving a student with a disability; trustees and speakers linked the policy review to broader concerns about discipline practices and differential impacts on students of color and students with disabilities.
