Title
Authorizing the Council Committee on Education to conduct hearings to examine the Philadelphia School District's discipline policy and the recent report "Zero Tolerance in Philadelphia" by the Advancement Project and Youth United for Change, which documents the negative and disproportionate effect of zero tolerance discipline policies on poor and minority students.
Body
WHEREAS, School discipline policies and practices should be designed to protect students from harm, to create healthy and productive learning environments, to assist youth in learning from their mistakes, and to maximize students' opportunities to learn; and
WHEREAS, The School District of Philadelphia and local charter schools have become overly-reliant on zero tolerance school discipline, including the use of out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, disciplinary transfers to alternative schools, referrals to law enforcement, and school-based arrests; and
WHEREAS, Disciplinary practices in Philadelphia schools are getting harsher while similar districts are experiencing extremely positive results with school disciplinary approaches focused on prevention and effective intervention that are more cost-effective and have been highly successful in addressing school-based misconduct, promoting a positive school climate, and making schools safer; and
WHEREAS, The report "Zero Tolerance in Philadelphia" establishes that the Philadelphia School District's discipline practices are outside of the national norms, and enforced inappropriately; and
WHEREAS, Students within the School District of Philadelphia are arrested or suspended out-of-school over three times more often than students elsewhere in Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, The report "Zero Tolerance in Philadelphia" concludes that the combination of zero tolerance policies and practices and the over-policing of students has turned many Philadelphia schools into hostile and ...
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