L.A. Schools Rethink Suspensions

Erica Phillips:

Damien Valentine was suspended from school for the first time as a seventh-grader in South Central Los Angeles, after arguing with a math teacher who had asked him to change seats.

Mr. Valentine, now a 16-year-old sophomore, said he was sent home for a day-and-a-half for "willful defiance," a term encompassing a variety of misbehavior that California schools can use as reason to remove students from the classroom.

This week, the Los Angeles Unified School District--the second-largest in the nation--decided to end the practice of suspending or expelling students for "willful defiance," starting this fall. District officials said the practice disproportionately affects minority students' education and leads to more disciplinary problems for students down the line.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 19, 2013 12:18 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas