Elk Grove Unified reports drop in suspensions but gaps remain for Black students

Elk Grove Unified School District officials told trustees at a special board workshop that the number of students suspended declined districtwide last year, but that disparities persist for certain groups, particularly African‑American students.

At a semiannual presentation, Superintendent Hoffman and district administrators said the district uses two complementary measures — the percentage of students suspended at least once and the suspension incident rate — to understand both how many students are affected and the total volume of exclusionary discipline. Martin Fine, the district’s data presenter, said the district’s suspended‑student rate fell to 3.7% in 2024–25 from 4.1% the prior year, a decrease of 195 students.

“The removal of a student from a classroom and from a school is as serious as it can get,” Superintendent Hoffman said, adding that the district views discipline “as an educational opportunity, not punitive consequence.” He and other speakers described a larger emphasis on multi‑tiered systems of support and restorative practices intended to keep students connected to classrooms.

District staff walked the board through subgroup trends. Fine said African‑American students accounted for the largest subgroup rate and, although rates decreased year‑over‑year, the disproportionality ratio remained similar to prior years. Richard Gutierrez and Martin Fine also reported that suspension incident totals fell by 266 incidents districtwide and that districtwide incident rates decreased from 6.6 to 6.1 per 100 students.

Officials said the district largely relies on alternatives to suspension: 91% of students who had a recorded behavior response received an alternative to suspension, including teacher‑managed responses (about 52%), administrator‑student conferences (20%) and mediated responses such as restorative conversations (7%). “When our incident rate goes down, it suggests interventions are working so students are not suspended again,” a district presenter said.

Trustees pressed staff for more detail on chronic repeat suspensions and requested examples of successful interventions. Trustee Bowling asked whether the district is tracking students who are suspended multiple times and what supports are provided; staff said that MTSS referrals, counseling and targeted interventions are used when students do not respond to lower‑tier supports.

Board members and presenters also discussed campus safety and the practical consequences of alternatives to suspension, including the need for adequate campus supervisors. Trustee Moore asked whether restroom closures tied to vandalism or vaping could be addressed by targeting locations; staff said campus incident logging shows about 491 classroom vandalism/property‑damage incidents and 82 restroom incidents and that more granular location data can be provided.

Trustees and staff agreed to continue monitoring data closely and to return in midyear with additional detail. The presentation was framed as part of a multi‑year strategy that district leaders say has helped reduce exclusionary discipline overall while highlighting the need to close remaining gaps for specific student groups.

The board took public comment on the topic and then recessed for a short break before moving to the next agenda item.