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Recently released  data on nearly every public school in the nation shows that students with disabilities continue to be disciplined and experience restraint and seclusion at far higher rates than others. Here is a quote from an article in  disability scoop The figures come from the latest data collection from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. It reflects the experiences of more than 50 million students at over 96,000 public schools across the country during the 2015-2016 school year. The Education Department found that 12 percent of students were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and another 2 percent under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. However, students with disabilities were affected by various disciplinary procedures disproportionately. These children accounted for 28 percent of referrals to law enforcement or school-related arrests, 26 percent of out-of-school suspensions and 24 percent of expulsions,...

A new report issued by the Government Accountability Office released today found that  Black students, boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined (e.g., suspensions and expulsions) in K-12 public schools, according to GAO's analysis of Department of Education (Education) national civil rights data for school year 2013-14, the most recent available. These disparities were widespread and persisted regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school attended. For example, Black students accounted for 15.5 percent of all public school students, but represented about 39 percent of students suspended from school—an overrepresentation of about 23 percentage points (see figure). The report found that children with disabilities were overrepresented in disciplinary actions by 13.2 percent. Here is a quote from the report "For students with disabilities, the same pattern of disproportionately higher rates of disci...

We have written here a number of times about the  movement to replace traditional school discipline, which adversely affects students with disabilities, with restorative justice or restorative practices. Here is an article about a CADRE presentation on restorative justice. Here is a reference to the Department of Education blog concerning restorative justice as an alternative to discipline. Here is a post on restorative remedies . A report issued last week by the Education Commission of the States, A Policy Snapshot on Alternative School Discipline Strategies, examines the states use of alternatives to traditional discipline. The report shows that a number of states including Maryland, California, Michigan, Utah and Texas have specifically developed restorative practices alternatives.  Here is an excerpt from the report: Exclusionary and punitive school discipline policies, such as suspensions and expulsions, allow educators to remove students from the classroom for poor beh...

A recent report by the Center for American Progress shows that students with disabilities aged 3 to 5 make up about 12 % of the early childhood population, yet they represent about 75% of suspensions and expulsions. Alternatively stated, these very young people with disabilities are about 14 1/2 times more likely to be suspended or expelled that their non-disabled peers. Yikes. Here are some other findings: The odds of being suspended or expelled were more than 43 times higher for children with behavioral problems. The odds of being suspended or expelled were 33 times higher for children with ADHD. The odds of being suspended or expelled were more than 14 times higher for children with anxiety. The odds of being suspended or expelled were 10 times higher for children with autism/ASD. The odds of being suspended or expelled were more than 7.5 times higher for children with developmental delays. The odds of being suspended or expelled were more than 4 times higher for children with spee...

The National Center of Educational Statistics of the federal Institute of Education Sciences has issued a report on crime, violence, discipline and safety in U.S. Public Schools 2015-2016. The report provides findings using data from the 2015–16 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2016).  If you deal with school discipline or crime, you should study this report. The entire 83 page report is available here. Among the findings are a troubling number of schools feel that IDEA and related state rules pertaining to the discipline of students with disabilities are hindering their efforts to deal with crime in public schools! according to the study, Among the factors that were reported to limit schools’ efforts to reduce or prevent crime “in a major way,” three factors were more likely to be reported than others: a lack of, or inadequate, alternative placements or programs for disruptive students (30 percent); inadequate funds (28 percent); and federal, state, or district polic...