Administrators will no longer be able to suspend students in pre-kindergarten through second grade who attend St. Louis Public Schools next fall.
Superintendent Kelvin Adams on Tuesday outlined several changes to the district鈥檚 student code of conduct during a Special Administrative Board meeting.
The most significant change eliminated out-of-school suspensions for the district鈥檚 youngest students.
鈥淲e just think it鈥檚 the right thing to do,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to say is our kids are not bad. Our kids need support. And this is an attempt to get them support.鈥�
The board approved the new code of conduct almost immediately after Adams鈥� presentation. It goes into effect in the 2016-17 school year.
鈥淚 truly believe that kids that are 3,4,5,6 and 7 (years old) 鈥� some may know the difference between right and wrong, but how do we help them make the best kinds of choices around right and wrong?鈥� Adams said.
St. Louis Public Schools has been in the spotlight in recent years for its high suspension rate.
And with this newest change, it鈥檚 now one of only a handful of school districts nationwide to ban out-of-school suspensions in the early grades.
According to
Data also show the district issued more than 1,400 in and out of school suspensions last year to students in pre-K to second grade 鈥� the group affected by the policy change.
Forty percent of those 鈥� 575 鈥� were out-of-school suspensions.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to say is our kids are not bad. Our kids need support.鈥�Kelvin Adams, superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools
At Tuesday鈥檚 meeting, Adams said he鈥檇 checked this year鈥檚 numbers, and found that so far, 475 children in pre-K to second grade had received suspensions.
鈥淚 see this as a major issue for education in the city of St. Louis,鈥� board member Richard Gaines said. 鈥淲e believe we do better with these kids when they鈥檙e in school. Sending them home doesn鈥檛 do anything but burden the parents.鈥�
Adams has said the district has struggled to find resources and money to support students who may need intervention or other services.
He promised schools will be getting more support with more counselors and professional development in the coming months.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a holistic kind of approach we鈥檙e looking at,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut at the end of the day we want to reduce the number of kids who are being put out of school, that鈥檚 it.鈥�
As it stands, only about half of the district鈥檚 46 elementary schools offer in-school suspension, where a child can be removed from a classroom but not miss school altogether. For students in schools that don't have in-school suspension, acting out in class meant getting kicked out of school. In some cases, for several days at a time.
Even though the district is predominantly black, its suspension stats from last year stood out for another reason: all of the 575 out-of-school K-3 suspensions administrators issued went to black students.
鈥淚f we put them out 鈥� we鈥檙e saying that every time you do something wrong you鈥檙e going to be put out of some environment,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 the best answer.鈥�
Adams said he鈥檚 focusing on an early grades suspension ban because of the research around the 鈥渟chool-to-prison pipeline,鈥� that shows that children who are suspended can often end up in the criminal justice system later.
鈥淚 see this as a major issue for education in the city of St. Louis.鈥�School board member Richard Gaines
A few other places around the country have made similar moves.
Earlier this year, a charter network in Boston promised to
Two years ago, California enacted the nation鈥檚 first statewide ban on K-3 suspensions for things like 鈥漝isrespect.鈥�
Terms like that are 鈥渞ather amorphous,鈥� deputy superintendent Stacy Clay told the board Tuesday.
St. Louis Public Schools, with the help of a community task force, has now eliminated the phrases 鈥淚nsubordination/Disrespect鈥� and 鈥淒isorder/Disruption鈥� from the code of conduct.
Instead it lists specific behaviors, ranks them and gives directions about how they should be addressed.
Under the new rules, things like verbal abuse, leaving the classroom without permission, not participating in class and intentionally distracting other students would not result in an out-of-school suspension for any student, regardless of the grade.
Adams said these and other changes to the code of conduct are aimed at changing the district鈥檚 discipline philosophy.
鈥淲e realized we need to do a better job of giving kids more support within the school structure around interventions instead of punishment,鈥� he said.
The district also plans to offer more treatment options to older students struggling with substance abuse issues and place a greater emphasis on restorative justice.
