Reducing out of School Suspension Through Prevention and Alternative Consequences

Reducing Out of School Suspension Through Prevention and Alternative Consequences

Discipline is consistently ranked as one of the leading concerns of teachers.

 Discipline is often equated with punishment.

 Punitive consequences have inherent limitations:

 Lying/Sneaky Behavior

 Fear

 May become neutral

 May become reinforcing

A typical response to discipline issues is to use Out Of School Suspension

In many districts OSS is very frequently used, and yet there is tremendous pressure to create alternatives.

Los Angeles Unified is the first district in the state to stop suspending students for “willful defiance” – a subjective category that accounts for 54 percent of suspensions and a quarter of all expulsions across the state. Edsource, 2013

Last Tuesday, Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett showed off changes in discipline policy in Chicago schools, claiming CPS schools have been successfully moving away from zero- tolerance discipline, toward a more holistic approach where, according to Byrd-Bennett in a DNAinfo article, "suspensions must be the last resort."

Chicago Tribune, Feburary 2014

Facing mounting criticism over its "zero-tolerance" approach to discipline, Jefferson County Public Schools is considering loosening its student-conduct policies to reduce punishments that remove thousands of students from class each year.

Courier Journal, March 25, 2014 Weaknesses and Drawbacks to Out of School Suspension

Historical Context:

Graduation Rates

 2010- 76.7%

 1940- 50.8%

 1870- 2%

o Implications:

. Schools were never intended to educate 100% of the population

. Current expectations- All students will be successful and graduate

. Exclusionary Practices are a holdover from our history

Digest of Educational Statistics

Historical Arguments for use of Suspension

 Improve Student behavior by getting parent attention and support

o To the extent that a child’s persistent misbehavior is a reflection of weaknesses in the home, there is little reason to believe that sending the student home to spend time in a dysfunctional setting will improve behavior.

o For even the most effective parents, a child’s suspension can have harmful ramifications on the family due to lost work or income.

o Suspended children are least likely to have supervision at home

o Children from single parent families are 2-4 times likely to be suspended as those from two parent homes

. What percentage of Your Students have all of the features that make suspension effective?

 Parents/Guardians who can take three days off work with as little as 12 hours notice?

2 [Type the document title]  Parents/Guardians who will supervise the child throughout the period of suspension?

 Parents/Guardians who will skillfully interact with the child during the period of suspension by:

. Restricting privileges and communication with friends

. Treat the child with dignity and respect

. Counsel about the how to be successful in school

 Concern for Safety Which led to Zero Tolerance Policies

o Became common after disastrous events such as school shootings

o Zero Tolerance led to increased numbers of suspensions

. 2006- 3.3 million students suspended

 5% of those were for weapons or drug related offenses

. Since the early 1970’s, suspension rates have:

 Nearly double for whites , from 3%-6%

 More than doubled for Hispanics, from 3% -7%

 More than doubled for blacks, from 6%-15% (Losen, 2011)

Deleterious Outcomes Associated with Out of School Suspension

 Involvement with the judicial system

 Lower academic achievement (schools with the highest levels of suspension were associated with lower student achievement)

 Increase in School Drop Out

 Poor School Attendance

 Grade Retention  More youth crime on school days than on non-school days

o Although the highest rate is immediately after school, more youth crime occurs during school hours than after 9:00pm

Disparate impact of OSS on minorities and students with disabilities.

Following is some information from the research literature.

Losen (2011) published a chart about suspension rates for first-time offenders in Wake County, North Carolina

Reveals great disparity between Black/African American and White students. Black/African American first-time offenders were suspended at higher rates than White first-time offenders for the same minor offenses.

• Cell phone offenses: 13% if White, 31% if Black/African American • Dress code offenses: 15% if White, 36% if Black/African American • Disruptive behavior: 22% if White, 38% if Black/African American • Display of affection 13% if White, 41% if Black/African American

From School to Prison Pipeline; Wald and Losen (2003) African American students’ risk for suspension almost three times as great as whites

Conclusions regarding the use of Out of School Suspension 1. Suspension is good practice for only a very limited percentage of students( and with those students, almost any other consequence is likely to work as well. 2. In the name of zero tolerance, all students are twice as likely to be subjected to suspension as they were 40 years ago 3. If you are a racial minority, or have a disability, you have even a higher likelihood of being suspended. 4. In the modern era, the science of education has demonstrated that Out of School Suspension is not effective and quite probably harmful.

Safe and Civil Schools Recommendation: Use alternative consequences other than OSS for non-zero tolerance offences.

4 [Type the document title] Preventative Approaches ARE ESSENTIAL

Apply the Prevention Variables in STOIC Structure All areas of the school, and all classrooms for student success. Teach Students how to be successful in all areas of the school and in classroom activity structures and transitions Observe Student behavior by use of Effective Supervision and by collecting and analyzing behavioral data to look for trends and patterns Interact Positively To build positive relationships and bond students to the school and staff.

 All school staff members need to know how they are supposed to deal with student misbehavior.

What misbehaviors should they handle (alone) at the time of the incident?

When should the administrator be involved?

When should there be staff collaboration on an individualized plan for a student?

 Foundations Recommendation: A school staff should take the time to reach consensus on a predetermined plan for dealing with discipline problems.

Advantages of having a predetermined plan Staff members can be on “automatic pilot” when responding to misbehavior. Staff responses to misbehavior will be more consistent and more effective. Staff members can put more time and energy into teaching, connecting with students, and recognizing student successes. Problems with not having a predetermined plan Staff members may not be sure about how they are supposed to correct misbehavior. Staff members may end up feeling frustrated, helpless, and angry with students when the students misbehave. Staff responses to misbehavior are likely to be less consistent. Some staff members may expect someone else to handle behavior problems, and feel frustrated when that doesn’t happen. Some staff members may have unrealistic expectations about what administrators can/should do with students who have been referred to the office.

6 [Type the document title] The effectiveness of office referral as a correction may be weakened. Administrators deluged with office referrals may start simply “processing” referred students, rather than trying to solve the problems leading to the misbehaviors.

Staff members may feel that they are “handing off” referred students.

Staff members may feel that the administrator is inconsistent and/or too lenient. Patterns of misbehavior (for individual students and/or across students) may go unnoticed.

Problem behaviors will continue to be responded to reactively, rather than dealt with proactively. Alternatives to Out-of-School Suspension

For offenses that involve violence, drugs, or weapons, you probably have a district policy that mandates OSS. But for less serious, discretionary offenses, avoid assigning OSS. Below we suggest a menu of alternatives to OSS you can use for Level 3 infractions. o All corrections and responses on the Level 1 and Level 2 menus. o Debriefing form. Have the student complete a debriefing form, such as the Behavior Improvement Form. o Problem-solving room. This room should be staffed by a skilled paraprofessional who can talk with the student, have the student fill out a debriefing form, and get the student back to instruction as quickly as possible. o Detention. You have several possibilities for scheduling detention to fit staff availability and school resources: lunchtime, before school, after school, or Saturday. Some schools that have a consistent early release day hold their detention on that day, right after school. We have heard from some schools in Texas, where Friday-night football is the big social event of the week, that Friday-night detention is very effective. Parents were very supportive of this and data showed that students did not want to repeat this detention. o Restorative Practices. With this correction, students make amends or compensate for any damage that results from their actions. Restorative practices can take many forms: o Apology letter o Relationship conference—attempt to restore a damaged relationship by, for example, having the student meet with the teacher he was disrespectful to or arranging a conference with peers who are not getting along. However, do not use this strategy for bullying or harassment; students who have been bullied or harassed should not be forced to confront the student who bullied or harassed. o Repairing damage—have a student who wrote on a desk wash the desk, for example. Be careful not to imply that maintenance tasks in general are punishment, however. Instead, the emphasis should be on the valuable job that your custodians do to keep the school clean and if a student damages school property, it is her responsibility to assist with the maintenance of the building. o Paying for damage—you will probably have to coordinate with the parents when money is involved. o Community service o Student required to devise a restorative plan

Restorative practices is a growing movement in schools and in the juvenile justice system. You might consider providing formal training to some staff in conducting meditations, group circles, and family group conferences. More information is available at: http://www.restorativepracticesfoundation.org/evidence/ http://www.iirp.edu/what-is-restorative-practices.php o Cocurricular activity suspension. Have the student lose the privilege of participating in sports or clubs for a specified period. Be careful, however; if a sport or club is the one connection the student has with the school, you might lose the student by using this consequence. o Mini-courses or skill modules. Have the student complete a course that focuses on the social, emotional, or behavioral skills that he is struggling with. The school counselor or school psychologist can lead the development of these courses. o Short-term skill group. During detention, the counselor conducts group skills training for all students who are present for detention. You might schedule an ongoing social skills group that takes place during the lunch period; students spend 2 or 3 lunch periods with the skill group instead of with their friends in the cafeteria. Some schools conduct recess social skills training. Students who are assigned this consequence go to recess, but instead of free play they participate in a structured social skills group for 2 or 3 days. A counselor or skilled paraprofessional (under the counselor’s supervision) teaches social skills using playground games and interactions. o Behavior Monitoring. A Tier 2 check-and-connect program can provide students with adult attention and support, structure, and motivation to improve their behavior. Students carry monitoring cards and have teachers rate them for specific behaviors throughout the school day. Students are rewarded for improved behavior. We discuss one of these programs, Connections, in detail in Module C, Presentation 5, Task 5. o Behavior contracting (school-based or home-based). Behavior contracting has a powerful base in the research literature. The student signs a contract that stipulates consequences for inappropriate behavior as well as incentives for positive behavior. o Parent Supervision at school. The student’s parent is required to come to school and shadow the student throughout the day. Students find this correction very aversive, but it should be used carefully and sparingly. o In-school suspension. When structured well, ISS can be a very effective alternative to OSS.

Research suggests there are four basic ISS models: . Punitive: The assumption behind a punitive model is that simply putting the student in ISS will automatically reduce the misbehavior. . Discussion: This model assumes that active discussions with the program staff to improve self-esteem, communication skills, and problem-solving skills will help the student develop more appropriate behavior. . Academic: The academic model assumes that most of the behavior problems arise from academic frustration; if the student can improve his or her basic academic skills, behavior will improve. . Hybrid: This model comprises components from the first three models to form a comprehensive ISS program. The hybrid model is generally accepted as best practice and is the model recommended by Safe and Civil Schools.