Will Olympia protect our youngest learners from removal?

Advocates identify 6 things the state could do. Two bills in play touch on some of them

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Excluding young children from learning is surprisingly common - even though it doesn’t fix the problem, is developmentally inappropriate, and causes long-term harm and expense.

So, will state legislators act to stop removing young learners from school?

• One bill skirts around a key issue: Just how unprepared most child-care and early learning providers are when it comes to accommodating and working with children with disabilities.

• The process involved in trying to pass another bill captures how much school administrators cling to the practice of removing young learners instead of improving professional capacity to support early childhood development and combat bias.

Many people are surprised to learn just how common suspension is for preschoolers, kindergartners and children in grades 1 to 3. In Washington last year, 6,000 K-3 students were suspended or expelled. Nationwide, preschoolers are removed from learning at three times the rate of students in the K-12 system.

And the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 National Survey for Children’s Health (NSCH) revealed children with disabilities made up 75 percent of preschool removals, even though these 3- to 5-year-olds only account for 12 percent of preschoolers. 

The national children's health survey also flagged a practice that families of children with disabilities are all too familiar with: The “soft suspension” of asking parents to come pick up their child early. This is something families experience in preschool and child care settings, and in K-12. There are legal protections that come into play when disciplining children because of their disability or denying them access to public accommodations. So instead, schools and providers do it informally.

Discipline rules change, but will it matter?

What will move the needle for students with disabilities?

• Respond by NOV 13. Here is how.
• Compare proposed and existing rules
• See stories and resources from the ACLU of Washington, at bottom

Courtesy of the ACLU of Washington

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Students receiving special education services
face the second highest discipline rates in Washington.

For years, advocates have worked to implement social emotional learning, positive behavior interventions and supports, and de-escalation strategies to help schools prevent avoidable disciplinary issues. And while some schools and districts have made headway, prevention strategies as a general practice are still not required by the state and are not uniformly supported through professional development.

In 2013, new legislation and advocacy efforts put a spotlight on discipline. Data showed schools suspended and expelled certain types of students more than others; and students of color faced more severe discipline for the same offenses.

Courtesy of the ACLU of Washington

In the years since, discipline rates have fallen for some subgroups of students:

• 7.4 to 6.6 percent in 2016 for American Indians over the last 4 years, and
• 10.3 to 8 percent for African American students in that time

But rates for students in special education have hovered near 8 percent. The needle hasn’t moved nearly enough for students of color, and hasn’t moved much at all for kids with disabilities.

Kindergarten suspension? Take action

UPDATE 3/8/2017: There is a floor amendment that defeats the intent of this bill. It would allow students to be removed from school for up to 12 or 18 days a year (depending on whether semesters or trimesters are used). In a district like Seattle Public Schools, that means young learners could be removed on average twice a month. The Arc of King County cannot support if this amendment passes.

Organizations working to curb suspensions and expulsions in the K-2 grades need help getting a bill to the Senate floor for a vote. Following is a letter composed by the ACLU that they are sending (reprinted with permission). It has some excellent talking points that you can use with your state senators. The Arc of King County has signed on.

YOU CAN HELP:

• You can comment on the bill directly, here. 
• Or if you prefer, you can find your district and contact information for your senator here. 

Contacting your senator is especially helpful if they are on the Rules Committee. (See list of King County senators on Rules, at the end of this post.)

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Lieutenant Governor Habib and Senator Schoesler,

Every child deserves the opportunity to receive a quality education. They deserve the chance to stay in school even when they make mistakes, and they should be able to trust that their school is committed to helping them access learning opportunities.

In Washington State, however, K-2 suspensions and expulsions have gone up 40% since 2013. During the 2015-2016 school year, 5,000 students were suspended or expelled. Most students who are suspended or expelled at this age have disabilities, are students of color, and/or are experiencing some form of violent trauma. In effect, we are removing the children with the greatest life challenges from opportunities for academic and social learning.