As a student in Hickory County R-1 school district, state Rep. Ian Mackey often struggled with following the rules of a classroom.
鈥淢y way to express myself was usually really loud and really invasive,鈥� said Mackey, D-St. Louis. 鈥淭here were a lot of teachers who wanted to send me home, and in some cases did.鈥�
For Mackey, getting sent home often meant packing up and going to another classroom 鈥� one of his parents, who were both teachers in the same school district.
鈥淢y parents being teachers in the building probably saved me from a lot of out-of-school suspensions,鈥� he said.
Most Missouri students facing suspension 鈥� especially Black students who are disproportionately suspended 鈥� aren鈥檛 so lucky.
In the 2018-19 school year, the most recent not impacted by the pandemic, there were 1,014 in-school suspensions lasting 10 or more days and 10,675 out-of-school suspensions, according to state data.
While the numbers have declined over the past decade, disparities have persisted. Black students and students with disabilities .
A bipartisan group of lawmakers filed bills this year that aim to make suspensions a last resort. A filed by Mackey, , R-Eureka, and , D-Kansas City, would require schools to report and make more accessible suspension data and encourage alternatives be considered.
They would also prohibit out-of-school suspensions and expulsions from pre-kindergarten through the third grade.
鈥淚t's really hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that a 6-year-old is doing something so egregious that they can no longer learn in a classroom setting. That's really surprising,鈥� Arthur said, later adding: 鈥淥ur focus right now is making sure that we're setting kids up for success later in life by supporting them early on.鈥�
Banning suspensions
In addition to banning suspensions through the third grade, the bills also stipulate that truancy or prior disciplinary actions cannot be the sole basis for a student鈥檚 suspension or expulsion.
At a hearing to determine a student鈥檚 removal, the bills would require school boards to consider alternatives to suspensions and expulsions, like restorative justice techniques or behavioral supports.
In recent years, a handful of districts in the St. Louis area , including St. Louis Public Schools.
Last year, Kansas City Public Schools also that students through the fifth grade will not be suspended unless in instances when they cause harm to themselves or others or violate the law. The policy is set to go into effect for the next school year, said Lateshia Woodley, an assistant superintendent of student support at Kansas City Public Schools.
Coupled with the new suspension policy is a range of other initiatives, including funds to ensure a school counselor is in every school building, and to provide training and professional development to staff.
鈥淲ithout adding additional support for students and training for staff," Woodley said, "just changing the policy will not have the desired impact."
Mackey said in the past, opposition to banning suspensions has stemmed from concerns around school safety issues, like if a student threatens to bring a weapon to class. He鈥檚 filed a version of the bill since 2019, but it鈥檚 never received a committee hearing 鈥� one of the first steps to a bill becoming law.
He said the state鈥檚 largest districts already moving toward limiting suspensions leaves him optimistic it can be a successful statewide policy.
鈥淚f it's working for them,鈥� Mackey said, 鈥渋t can work anywhere else. It can work in Hickory County where I graduated from 鈥� 48 kids in my class.鈥�
Other states have implemented suspension bans of their own, with varying results.
Texas and Connecticut passed bans on out-of-school suspensions through the second grade 鈥� .
Meanwhile, six years after the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest district in the country, banned 鈥渨illful defiance鈥� suspensions for all students, there was a 75% drop across all suspension categories and racial disparities narrowed, .
But advocates worry the pandemic may upend school discipline reforms, and they鈥檝e already seen new trends arise.
Both Arthur and Mackey said they鈥檝e heard from educators that not only are teachers under immense stress dealing with the pandemic, but students are as well 鈥� and that鈥檚 .
Arthur said the bills aren鈥檛 an attempt "to handcuff teachers" or take a tool away.
鈥淏ut it's to make sure that we are now working with best practice,鈥� Arthur said, 鈥渨hich we know means keeping kids in school and helping them redirect some of the challenging behavior.鈥�
Jan Parks, co-chair of the education task force for More2, a collective of faith organizations that advocated for KCPS鈥� new suspension policy, said the need for limiting suspensions has only increased with students missing out on time in-school amid the pandemic.
Parks said she鈥檚 concerned suspensions would only serve to hasten their removal from the classroom when they return.
鈥淗e or she鈥檚 barely gotten back, and already, they're suspended again,鈥� Parks said. 鈥淎nd that's not helping anyone.鈥�
Amanda Schneider, the managing attorney for the Education Justice Program, an initiative of the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri that provides legal assistance to keep kids in school and disrupt the school to prison pipeline, said the return to in-person education has not only led to an overuse of suspensions and removals, but a rise in students being relegated to virtual learning long-term in lieu of receiving suspensions.
Schneider called the phenomenon 鈥渧irtualization,鈥� and said she鈥檚 concerned that the students being placed on long-term virtual learning are often those who have already faced 鈥渋mmense setbacks鈥� from online classes and that they may not be receiving adequate due process.
鈥淲hen a student is virtualized,鈥� Schneider said, 鈥渋t really effectively means that many of the students that we work with, are and were completely without an education.鈥�
Suspension data
The bills would also require schools to collect and report detailed data related to disciplinary removals, such as demographic data, the duration of the suspension and the types of alternative measures that were used prior to removing the student.
That data would in turn be part of schools鈥� accountability report cards published by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, or DESE, starting in the 2023-24 school year.
Schools already report many of those categories, like grade level, gender and race, at both a state and federal level. However, national data on school suspensions is often several years delayed.
An from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the UCLA Civil Rights Project that analyzed federal data for the 2015-16 school year, found that Black secondary students in Missouri lost 198 days as a result of out-of-school suspensions 鈥� 162 more days than their white peers.
Students with disabilities lost 119 days due to out-of-school suspensions, according to the study.
Meanwhile, demographic data on school suspensions, like race, , is not made readily available .
Mallory McGowin, a spokeswoman for DESE, said additional demographic data is not displayed because, 鈥渢he numbers are often so minimal that the data wouldn鈥檛 be shown to protect student privacy.鈥�
Last year, Mackey and Bailey worked to pass a new law . Mackey said the need for more data on school suspensions was similarly borne out of a desire to better understand the scope of their use across the state.
础谤迟丑耻谤鈥檚 also stipulates that schools enrolling students who are participating in a forthcoming scholarship program must also collect and report data on suspensions to the Missouri empowerment scholarship accounts board.
Last year, lawmakers passed a tax credit program that funds donations for scholarships that can be used toward costs like private school tuition. The .
鈥淭his is reasonable, good policy for all students,鈥� Arthur said of the bill鈥檚 requirements. 鈥淎nd so I think it should apply to all students, especially in education settings that are accepting taxpayer dollars.鈥�
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