Dancing. Whistling. Asking to call their mom. Using the bathroom without permission.
Another Voice: Buffalo Public Schools must address its suspension crisis
These are four of the reasons children in Buffalo Public Schools were suspended during the last school year.
BPS has a chronic suspension crisis – and it’s hurting tens of thousands of students. As a new report from the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Buffalo Suspension Coalition and Buffalo parents shows, the District has had the highest suspension rate in the state for six of the past seven years. Some suspensions mean students spend months at home, without class work, instruction or mental health support.
Forcing students out of classrooms denies them essential instruction time, damages their mental health and hurts school climate. It also increases the chances they’ll fall behind, be chronically absent, drop out or interact with police. This is especially true in a district where over 61% of students were absent for over 20% of school last year.
Schools have suspended students as young as three years old. Last year, more than 400 students in pre-K through third grade were suspended for behaviors like throwing items, running and not following directions.
Black students withstand the worst of BPS’ punitive methodology. Last school year, the district imposed short-term suspensions on two-and-a-half times as many Black students as white students. That same year, the district handed out four times as many long-term suspensions — six days out of school or more — to Black students as their white peers. The district also punishes Black students for minor misbehavior far more than white students.
Students with disabilities are also more likely to be suspended. During the 2023-2024 school year, BPS suspended students with disabilities at twice the rate of their peers.
Instead of relying on suspensions, BPS must prioritize restorative alternatives – the gold standard for correcting and redirecting student behavior.
Restorative justice addresses the root cause of students’ challenges. If a student falls asleep in class, for example, school staff should engage with them directly – and consider the situation holistically – before jumping to suspension. That student may work after school and need help from a counselor on how to manage priorities.
By embracing this approach, BPS could make it easier for teachers to do their jobs, create safer school environments, and more effectively support student outcomes.
BPS must adopt the New York State Education Department’s recommendations to reform school discipline. Doing so would immediately eliminate suspensions of students in pre-K through third grade, cap the maximum length of suspension and prohibit suspensions for minor non-dangerous infractions. The recommendations also call for districts to provide regular school work to suspended students.
Our schools should be helping students succeed – not shutting them out of class and locking the door behind them.
Quinn Carroll is Youth Programs manager for the New York Civil Liberties Union’s Education Policy Center.
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