Massachusetts School Suspensions Slightly Increase, Racial Disparity Remains

MASSACHUSETTS — While the number of Massachusetts students suspended from school sharply decreased after a new state law took effect in July of 2014, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE) latest annual analysis indicates that the number of students suspended slightly increased from the 2014-2015 school year to the 2015-2016 school year. In addition, the analysis found that African American, Hispanic/Latino and disabled students are suspended at greater rates than students overall.

According to the analysis released Thursday, 4.3 percent of Massachusetts students were suspended at least once from school during the 2015-2016 school year, compared to 4.1 percent in 2014-2014. However, both figures represent a 10,000 student decrease from before the law was enacted.

"While orderly learning environments are essential, I am concerned with schools that over-rely on or disproportionately use suspensions," said Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester in a statement. "The Department will continue to work with districts to find effective alternatives to suspension and to identify and address instances in which suspensions are used disproportionately."

The rate at which students in minority groups slightly increased, and the rate at which those students are suspended did not decrease. The suspension rates for African American/black students also increased from 9 percent in 2014-2015 to 9.3 percent in 2015-2016. Suspension rates for Hispanic/Latino students increased at a similar clip, from 7.4 percent to 7.7 percent.

Both national and state data reveals racial disparity rates among minority students.

Students with disabilities were also suspended at a slightly higher rate than the previous year, from 8 percent in 2014-2015 to 8.3 percent in 2015. The new regulations were aimed to promote alternatives to suspensions, such as evidence-based strategies and programs such as mediation, conflict resolution, restorative justice and positive interventions and supports.

The DESE also noted that while there are areas of concern, changes in discipline statistics at an individual school level should be examined carefully.

"While there are several areas of concern, it is also possible that reporting errors at the district level during the first year of implementation (2014-15) may have led to significant percentage jumps when incidents were more consistently reported in 2015-16," the DESE release noted."Percentage changes should also be considered in conjunction with the number of students disciplined; as always, even small changes can produce large percentage differences."

You can view a breakdown of school suspensions by district here.