SACRAMENTO — The numbers of students suspended and expelled in California public schools has declined for the fifth year in a row, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced Wednesday.
The results show the success of educators using “more engaging instruction and effective discipline,” Torlakson stated in a press release.
The figures come from data collected by the California Department of Education (CDE), and are the most detailed and comprehensive statistics in the nation, according to the CDE.
The information covers all of the state’s more than 10,000 public schools.
From the 2011-12 school year to 2016-17, suspensions statewide declined by 46 percent, meaning there were 327,857 fewer suspensions in 2016-17 than in 2011-12.
In Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the numbers varied from zero suspensions in the 2011-12 school year to 1,272 in 2013-14. That number dropped to 391 the next year, and to 161 in 2015-16.
Last year saw 437 suspensions.
Expulsions statewide decreased by 42 percent during the five-year period, dropping from about 9,800 to 5,700, a difference of about 4,100 students.
PVUSD appears to be ahead of the statewide curve with its expulsion rates.
The district expelled 40 students in the 2011-12 school year, a number that peaked the next year with 77.
But only 27 students were expelled in 2013-14, and just one in 2014-15. The data shows zero in the 2015-16 school year and one last year.
PVUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez attributed the low numbers in part to the district’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program, which was launched two years ago and ramped up last year.
Also known as PBIS, the three-tiered program takes the focus away from punishing bad behavior and instead encourages positive behavior.
“It still holds them accountable, but it makes expectations clear and gives positive reinforcement and additional support and interventions for kids who need it,” Rodriguez said.
Students in tier three — or those whose behavior warrants extra attention — receive “wraparound” services, where teachers and school officials take a more comprehensive look into their living environment, along with their emotional, medical, spiritual and cultural needs.
“A child acts out for a reason,” Rodriguez said. “The goal is to try to figure out the root cause about why they are acting that way. Hopefully we’re treating each child individually and finding out where they are.”
The CDE has been collecting and reporting more detailed data about suspensions and expulsions since 2011.
“Information is power,” Torlakson said. “Since we started collecting and publicizing this data, educators, parents and community members have worked hard to find ways to keep students in school while maintaining a safe environment.”
The new suspension and expulsion numbers are available at the CDE DataQuest website.
While the rates of suspensions and expulsions have declined, black and Latino students face those penalties more than their white peers, Torlakson said.
“Disparities in suspension rates among student groups are disturbing and need to be addressed,” Torlakson said. “We have much work to do. We need to do more, and we need to do better.”
CDE offers forums and workshops about alternative programs to suspensions and expulsions, including “restorative justice” programs that help students understand the nature and consequences of their actions.
In some programs, affected parties meet after misconduct to discuss ways in which to meet the victim’s needs, hold offenders accountable and promote school safety.
Other strategies include teaching life skills and emotional control.
Legislation effective in January 2015 placed limits on suspensions for “willful defiance,” a category in the state Education Code that had been used broadly to discipline students. Willful defiance became an issue after CDE data revealed that students in certain ethnic groups, particularly African Americans, experienced a disproportionate percentage of expulsions and suspensions under that single category.
Since the law took effect, the total number of overall defiance-only suspensions has decreased from about 335,000 to 78,000, a decrease of nearly 77 percent. The rate for African Americans dropped from about 62,000 to 13,000, a decline of nearly 80 percent.
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For information, visit dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dataquest.asp and www.pbis.org.
