Pediatricians oppose school suspension, expulsion
A group representing pediatricians says disciplining students with out-of-school suspension or expulsion is counterproductive to school goals and should only be used on case by case basis.
The policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that pediatricians familiarize themselves with the policies of their local school districts, and advocate for prevention and alternative strategies.
“The adverse effect of out-of-school suspension and expulsion on the student can be profound,” the experts write in the journal Pediatrics on Monday.
“Data suggest that students who are involved in the juvenile justice system are likely to have been suspended or expelled. Further, students who experience out-of-school suspension and expulsion are as much as 10 times more likely to ultimately drop out of high school than are those who do not,” they add.
Kathy Cowan, director of communications for the National Association of School Psychologists in Bethesda, Maryland, said their organization largely supports the AAP’s statements.
“Sometimes (out-of-school suspension and expulsion) are absolutely necessary, but they’re not effective at improving behavior in general,” Cowan told Reuters Health.
The AAP says students who are punished with out-of-school suspension and expulsion may be left without supervision during the day and engage in more inappropriate behavior.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A child’s ability to succeed in school depends, to a great extent, on factors affecting the child’s life well before the child begins school. Recognizing and addressing the socioeconomic and cultural risk factors affecting a child and the child’s family are essential to maximizing a child’s chances of success in school and to preventing, insofar as possible, the circumstances that may eventually lead to serious school behavior and discipline problems.
Out-of-school suspension and expulsion can contribute to the risk of a student dropping out of high school.
The costs of a person’s failure to complete his or her secondary education are significant and are borne by society as a whole. These costs to society should be kept in mind as schools, communities, and states consider how to pay for medical, psychological, counseling, and other needed services for children at risk.
The AAP recognizes the importance of bringing the expertise of various professions to bear in a coordinated way to best help children who are not succeeding in school. More research is indicated to identify the most effective means of eliciting positive behaviors in a child with the greatest benefits to society.
The experts also say out-of-school suspension and expulsion does not deal with possible underlying issues, such as drug abuse, racial tension, violence and bullying.
In addition to the costs incurred by the school district from disciplinary hearings and providing services for the child, the pediatricians say there is also a cost to society.
“A high-school dropout will earn $400,000 less over a lifetime than a high school graduate. The dropout will pay $60,000 less in taxes,” they write.
To prevent out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, the pediatricians suggest developing early interventions for preschool children, early identification of children who may have problems in school and clear codes of conduct.
Specifically, they recommend a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support program as a preventive, alternative, tool that teaches proper behavior on a school-wide level and that addresses problems with groups and individual students as well.
The AAP also called on Pediatricians to screen for and recognize behavioral problems in early childhood, to be in communication with the school’s nurse or counselor, to be involved with special accommodations for certain students and to be appropriately compensated for their involvement.
Cowan said the AAP should be applauded for their efforts.
“Pediatricians are such an important voice on these issues, because parents trust the pediatricians and they’re the ones seeing kids,” she said.
Dr. Jeffrey Lamont, the policy statement’s lead author, could not be reached for comment before deadline.
(This story has been refiled to say Dr. Lamont could not be reached for comment before deadline in final paragraph)
SOURCE: Pediatrics, online February 25, 2013
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Out-of-School Suspension and Expulsion
Abstract
The primary mission of any school system is to educate students. To achieve this goal, the school district must maintain a culture and environment where all students feel safe, nurtured, and valued and where order and civility are expected standards of behavior. Schools cannot allow unacceptable behavior to interfere with the school district ’ s primary mission. To this end, school districts adopt codes of conduct for expected behaviors and policies to address unacceptable behavior. In developing these policies, school boards must weigh the severity of the offense and the consequences of the punishment and the balance between individual and institutional rights and responsibilities. Out-of-school suspension and expulsion are the most severe consequences that a school district can impose for unacceptable behavior. Traditionally, these consequences have been reserved for offenses deemed especially severe or dangerous and/or for recalcitrant offenders. However, the implications and consequences of out-of-school suspension and expulsion and “ zero-tolerance ” are of such severity that their application and appropriateness for a developing child require periodic review. The indications and effectiveness of exclusionary discipline policies that demand automatic or rigorous application are increasingly questionable. The impact of these policies on offenders, other children, school districts, and communities is broad. Periodic scrutiny of policies should be placed not only on the need for a better understanding of the educational, emotional, and social impact of out-of-school suspension and expulsion on the individual student but also on the greater societal costs of such rigid policies. Pediatricians should be prepared to assist students and families affected by out-of-school suspension and expulsion and should be willing to guide school districts in their communities to fi nd more effective and appropriate alternatives to exclusionary discipline policies for the developing child. A discussion of preventive strategies and alternatives to out-of-school suspension and expulsion, as well as recommendations for the role of the physician in matters of out-of-school suspension and expulsion are included. School-wide positive behavior support/positive behavior intervention and support is discussed as an effective alternative.
Pediatrics 2013;131:e1000 – e1007
Pediatrics peds.2012-3932; Published online February 25, 2013 (10.1542/peds.2012-3932)