Title
Authorizing the Joint City Council Committees on Education and Children and Youth to hold hearings reviewing the impact of permanently prohibiting the suspension of elementary-aged students from the first through fifth grades in The School District of Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, Suspensions harm our youngest learners. The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania reports that whenever a school suspends a student it increases that child's likelihood of future educational barriers and challenges, including discipline, and truancy, which feeds the school-to-prison pipeline; and
WHEREAS, In 2014, U.S. Department of Education and Health and Human Services reported that suspension and expulsion can influence a number of adverse outcomes across development, health, and education. Young students who are expelled or suspended are as much as ten times more likely to drop out of high school, experience academic failure and grade retention, and hold negative school attitudes. Evidence supports the notion that expulsion or suspension early in a child's education is associated with expulsion or suspension in later school grades; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Education and Health and Human Services also reported that suspension and expulsion practices have the potential to hinder social-emotional and behavioral development. They also remove children from early learning environments and the corresponding cognitively enriching experiences that contribute to healthy development and academic success later in life. Adverse expulsion and suspension practices may also delay or interfere with the process of identifying and addressing underlying issues, which may include disabilities or mental health issues; and
WHEREAS, In a recent survey, the U.S. Department of Education found that 220,000 students out of a total enrollment of 50 million were referred to law enforcement; 70,000 students were subject to school-related arrests in the 2013-2014 school ye...
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