NYCLU Celebrates Student Suspension Reform Agreement Between AG James and Buffalo Public Schools

The AOD seeks to lower Buffalo’s student suspension rates, which have been the highest of any large district in the state for almost a decade

BUFFALO – Today, after years of advocacy from students, parents, educators, and advocates including the New York Civil Liberties Union, Attorney General Letitia James’ office and Buffalo Public Schools entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance (AOD), an agreement to reform the District’s reliance on punitive disciplinary tactics, provide meaningful support to students, and attempt to lower the astronomical student suspension rates that plague the district. This binding agreement also includes enforcement mechanisms like data monitoring and independent monitors to ensure compliance. 

In response, the New York Civil Liberties Union issued the following statement, attributable to Quinn Martha, Education Strategist at the NYCLU:

“Today’s agreement is a much-needed step towards a more supportive, welcoming, and safer Buffalo Public Schools community. 

“For almost the last decade, Buffalo Public Schools has been the highest suspending large district in the state — and scores of students, families, and community members have borne the brunt. We’ve called out the District for denying students access to schoolwork and mental health support for months on end, violating the civil rights of Black and brown students, kicking out our community’s youngest for normal child-like behaviors like dancing, whistling, or asking to call their mom, and pushing countless children into the school to prison pipeline after they fall behind. Enough is enough.

“Now, after years of advocacy, we’re hopeful that the legal oversight and guidance provided in this AOD will rectify the civil rights violations running rampant in BPS, keep more kids in the classroom, and focus educators on the student-centered, restorative forms of discipline that actually work.

“Students deserve the chance to learn, explore, fail, and then pick themselves back up without fear that they’ll lose their education rights. We welcome this new chapter for Buffalo Public Schools and plan to keep close watch, so all students receive the education they deserve.”

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