CCSD discipline report shows declines overall but highlights persistent disproportionality for Black students
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Summary
The district reported lower suspension and discretionary-expulsion totals this semester and outlined expanded restorative-practice training and School Justice Collaborative pilots; trustees pressed for data by student group and clarity on STA R/StaRN placements and expulsion referral counts.
District leaders told the Board of Trustees on Feb. 12 that student suspensions and discretionary expulsions declined during the first semester but that disproportionality in disciplinary outcomes remains a priority.
Associate Superintendent Kevin McPartland and assistant superintendent Sam Scavella presented discipline data showing 11,495 suspensions in the most recent first semester (a 7 percent decline from the prior year) and 496 discretionary expulsions (an 11 percent decrease). Middle school suspensions fell nearly 16 percent, while discretionary expulsions at the high-school level declined about 26 percent year over year in the district’s account.
Scavella and colleagues said improvements are tied to a districtwide shift from reactive responses to proactive, restorative and preventive strategies, expanded alignment of policy and school practices, and strengthened data monitoring. The district reported training more than 1,400 educators in restorative practices (13 hours minimum) and developing a network of roughly 340 restorative-practice trainers who completed additional hours. The School Justice Collaborative — a relaunch of a prior partnership with local law enforcement, juvenile justice and the district attorney’s office — will pilot proactive prevention efforts in selected schools.
Trustees questioned the district about persistent disproportionality. Presenters noted that Black/African American students remain a substantial outlier (reported as about 99.7 suspensions per 1,000 students in the presentation) despite multi-year declines, and that students eligible for special education are also prioritized for targeted supports. Trustees requested more disaggregated referral and outcome data, including counts of referrals for expulsion by student group and how diversion placements such as StaRN are reflected in discipline statistics. McPartland said StaRN and on-campus diversion programs are not counted as expulsions if students remain on campus, though long-term removals to academic centers would be.
The board discussed due-process steps for expulsion: cases begin with an on-site principal-level review, may proceed to a region-level Education Services adjudication and hearing panel, and ultimately to an Expulsion Review Board composed of a retired administrator and two trustees if not resolved earlier. Trustees asked the district to provide referral counts by student group and to clarify how bullying incidents and multiple-victim incidents are counted.
Trustees voted to accept the student discipline report. The district said it will continue targeted professional learning, scenario-based trainings for principals, and expansion of tiered supports for middle schools with high exclusion rates.
What’s next: Trustees requested future reports to include referral counts, outcomes by student group, top reasons for suspensions and expulsions, and monitoring of StaRN placement duration and instructional content.