A Connecticut research group has released its latest report on school suspensions and student arrests in the state.The report by Connecticut Voices for Children builds upon studies done in 2008 and 2013. Among the key findings – the number of students arrested due to school-related actions decreased by 35 percent from 2008 to 2013. Expulsions dropped 31 percent, while suspensions were nearly cut in half. Lead author Sarah Iverson says even greater impacts can be seen if schools and law enforcement partner to prevent students from getting into the legal system.
“Too many students are pushed out of school for non-criminal infractions like school policy violations such as skipping class, insubordination or using profanity,” Iverson said. “In 2013 school policy violations were involved in nine percent of student arrests, six percent of expulsions, 50 percent of out-of-school suspensions and 79 percent of in-school suspensions. Most school policy violations can and should be handled without removing students from the classroom and should not result in a child unnecessarily entering into the juvenile justice system.”
Overall, 0.4 percent of Connecticut’s 550,000 students were arrested for school-related actions in the 2012-13 school year. One-third of the cases involved fighting. About 7.5 percent of students received at least one suspension or expulsion, according to the report. The report highlights districts like Meriden Public Schools where arrests dropped from 193 in 2011 to 95 in 2013 while enrollment decreased by about 100 students. Superintendent Mark Benigni says the district decided to make the issue transparent and bring students into the discussion about the school environment.
“They’re looking to be treated as young adults and responsible citizens,” Benigni said. “They’re looking for more input and feedback into their school day and school work. When we open those doors to giving them voice and greater choice they’re buying in and it’s making a difference. We’re seeing improved academic results as well as improved school climate data.”
While not saying it’s the cause, the report notes Meriden is one of 21 districts involved in the School-Based Diversion Initiative rolled out by the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut in 2009. It works to train staff on identifying mental health problems and community resources. Edie Joseph is a policy fellow with Connecticut Voices for Children.
“Many students might be pushed out of school because they’re acting up due to underlying behavioral or mental health problems,” Joseph said. “By kicking kids out of school that’s actually doing nothing to help address the problem. It’s only exacerbating it.”
Benigni says Meriden’s staff has been creative in showing students their activity was wrong without kicking them out of school and bringing the community into the picture.
“We have a juvenile review and diversionary board who gives real consequences to students,” Benigni said. “Those should be about learning and changing behaviors. Less about punishment, more about learning. We’re a school system. We’ve also launched a family school liaison team that does all the proactive family engagement. That team has brought students on fan buses to sports activities and college visits. They do assemblies and bring in guest authors.”
The report finds that minority, low-income and special education students are disproportionally disciplined and in some cases the disparity has increased. Black students were nearly five times more likely to be expelled or arrested than white students while students in the poorest urban areas were 23 times more likely to be arrested than students in the wealthiest suburban areas. Connecticut Voices for Children recommends further educator training around race issues and doing away with zero tolerance policies, which Joseph explains.
“They tell kids that they don’t belong in the classroom and they lead to unnecessary, costly and harmful problems such as entrance into the juvenile justice system which is harmful for both the individual child and the state as a whole because it costs the state money to have kids enter into those systems,” said Joseph.
The group is supporting a bill called the Act Concerning Collaboration Between Boards of Education and Law Enforcement Personnel that was tabled in the Connecticut General Assembly in April 2014. It aims to implement memoranda of agreement between schools and police as to what entity should handle school-related issues, clearly define school-based arrests and provide such information publicly.
