Title
Authorizing the joint City Council Committees on Public Safety and Education to hold public hearings to examine the School District of Philadelphia's use of in-school and out-of-school suspension as well as other disciplinary tactics to understand what actions merit such a penalty.
Body
WHEREAS, Within the School District of Philadelphia, the District sets overall disciplinary policies. However, individual schools get to set additional policies and penalties for their students; and
WHEREAS, There are numerous tactics that the School District can and does use to discipline students as a way to deter certain behavior in the future. Some methods include detention, and well as suspension. The School District differentiates between in-school and out-of-school suspension procedures for students; and
WHEREAS, One suspension technique is in-school suspension. District has an in-school suspension program. Students serving In-school suspensions, sit in designated accommodation or detention rooms that temporarily removes students from their regularly assigned classroom settings. These suspensions are structured for student to provide both an academic component for students to complete assignments, instruction on the fundamentals of proper behavior in a classroom setting. In addition, some suspensions also include a community service component, where students who successfully complete the work will receive reduced suspension; and
WHEREAS, Out-of-school suspensions are differentiated into two different categories. In both categories, suspension is the exclusion of students from in-person attendance in school and exclusion from any school activities. Short -term suspension is exclusion from school activities for a three or fewer days. Long term suspensions on the other hand are between four and ten days; and
WHEREAS, It is necessary to understand how the School District and individual schools in the district utilize these and other disciplinary tactics for stud...
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