You all may have heard that CA is eliminating some school suspensions and citing of course the 'unfairness inherent' in too many being of minorities.

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loc...559999411.html

Shockingly a survey of teachers not only disagree, but think that the disciplining of the most disruptive students has been too lenient and should be employed earlier and more often:

https://www.aei.org/publication/what...ol-discipline/

Last year was my first year teaching in a school with a high poverty, Title I school. In AZ generally, the administration does use suspensions-in and out of school when applicable. The big problem is how many misbehaviors are tolerated/excused prior to starting on the suspension counts, which eventually may lead to expulsion.

For the first 3 months it's pretty much left to the teachers to deal with all non-violent bad behaviors. Tools? Send to another teacher for basically a time out. Oral reprimands. Preferred seating to isolate, though the overcrowding pretty much only the teacher's desk for isolation-then you run into stealing and destruction of property. Each time you document that student's behavior.

Then the student moves into 'period in school suspension,' sitting silently in a time out room, 'working' on classwork. Without a violent incident, this continues on and off for a few weeks. IF the student has at least 3 out of 4 teachers sending them here, they move into all day in school. Once that clock starts it can continue for 4-10 day in school. Then, once returned to the room, they may move up to out-of-school suspensions, that after 5, may result in expulsion hearing, for the rest of the year.

Remember the 'weeks' in school; vacation and national holidays. It's nearly impossible for non-violent, (which can be a misnomer, as throwing a chair on the ground, not at a person, is considered 'non-violent,') to be expelled until April. In the last 3 weeks of school, 9 of my students were expelled-for the rest of that year. This year, they start clean!