MANHATTAN — The number of suspensions at city public schools continued to drop, falling by nearly 32 percent, according to Department of Education data from July through December of 2015 released Thursday.
Notably, there was an 81 percent drop in suspensions for the controversial category classified as B21, or “defying authority,” which many advocacy groups believed had been abused as a catchall for principals to invoke when such harsh discipline may not have been merited.
The drop to about 12,700 suspensions was a direct result of changes the DOE implemented last year as well as additional support and training sessions, such as de-escalation training, therapeutic crisis interventions and collaborative problem solving.
The department has also been offering school safety agents and 250 new guidance counselors have been hired over the past two years, school officials said.
In addition, $47 million has been targeted in the preliminary budget for the next school year to expand programs that have been successful, officials said, like social-emotional learning training for all pre-K teachers, mental health services for 100 schools with the highest suspension rates, a full-time social worker and school culture coordinator for the 20 schools with the most suspensions and a dedicated counselor for every sixth- through 12th-grade student in the city’s two most high-needs districts — the South Bronx’s District 7 and Ocean Hill/Brownsville’s District 23.
“The restorative justice trainings equip educators with critical resources to effectively address and manage disruptive behaviors and teach students independence and accountability that applies in the classroom and beyond,” Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said in a statement. “The 31 percent decrease in suspensions is encouraging, but we have a lot more work to do to expand best practices and further support all students and staff in safe and supportive learning environments across the City.”
Advocates commended the city for its drop in B21 infractions, but want the city to go a step further and eliminate suspensions for "defying authority,” which they believe unfairly targets black and Latino students.
"We are happy to see suspensions continue to go down in our schools,” said Bronxite Latrell Stone, 18, a youth leader with the advocacy group Urban Youth Collaborative. “Less students being suspended means more students are getting back hours of instruction, classroom time and school days they were forced to miss because they were suspended, often for minor infractions.”
Still, his group believes as long as B21 infractions can still be used, they will continue to drive racial inequities in the school system. The group was particularly concerned about disparities for black students.
“We remain worried about high racial disparities in suspensions, criminal summons and arrests,” Stone said, “and are committed to continue our work to end all racial inequities in discipline and make sure schools are keeping students in and not pushing them out."
