By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Elementary school suspensions have skyrocketed 76 percent in recent years, according to data obtained by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
The data show that, for children aged 4 through 10, suspensions jumped from 3,469 in the 2002-2003 school year to 6,119 in 2008-2009.
Johanna Miller, public policy council at the NYCLU, described the spike as "appalling."
"I think what this number says quite clearly is that students are on a path to failing or walking out of school the first day that they walk into school," she said.
The Department of Education attributed the jump to a change in its Discipline Code in 2005-2006 that required principals to suspend any students involved in fights.
The NYCLU data shows that suspensions jumped more than 50 percent the next year, to a high of 7,374.
But the department revised the policy last year "to provide more options for principals," who can now decide to have a conference with parents instead of suspend, a spokesman said.
Still, Miller criticized any use of "zero-tolerance" policies, which she said are "especially upsetting" when 4 and 5 year old are involved.
"It's ridiculous to use a zero-tolerance approach with students like this," she said. "Not giving them a second chance is absurd."
