By Lisa Nuss

In 2015, the Oregon Legislature passed a law to limit principals’ use of out-of-school suspensions and expulsions as a discipline for minor problems.

The need for such a law begs the alarming question – have Oregon elementary principals been suspending children out of school for non-violent behavior to such an extreme that a law had to be passed to stop them? The sad answer is, yes, according to the Portland-based Youth, Rights and Justice Project.

In 2015, I interviewed the bill’s sponsor, Mark McKechnie, director of the Youth, Rights and Justice Project. McKechnie’s press release is pasted below. He told me that in the 2013-14 school year, nearly 8,000 students in Oregon grade schools (we’re talking ages 5-11) were suspended or expelled, and 71% of these actions were in response to “disruptive behavior” that never presented actual harm to anyone.

McKechnie’s data shows that 5,000 of those 8,000 extreme punishments will be prevented under this law. That’s an astonishing 5,000 children who were forced out of their schools by their principals for labeled “disruptive behaviors.” And sadly there are serious racial disparities in the children whom the mostly white, middle class “educators” label “disruptive.”

In the press release below, he finds that the discipline inequities are most acute for African-American and Native American students in grades K-5. (See charts on the right.)

Oregon Legislature Gives Final Approval to Elementary School Discipline Reform Bill

For Immediate Release, 5/21/15

Contact: Mark McKechnie, Executive Director, Youth, Rights & Justice

Mark.M@youthrightsjustice.org or 971-506-4112

Salem, OR–The Oregon House of Representatives voted to pass SB 553-A on a bipartisan vote of 41-18 today. The bill, introduced by chief sponsor Sen. Sara Gelser, previously passed the Oregon Senate 27-3 and will head now to the Governor for her signature.

SB 553-A limits the circumstances when students in grades K-5 can be expelled or suspended out of school. In the 2013-14 school year, nearly 8,000 students in elementary grades were excluded from school due to suspension or expulsion. Seventy-one percent of these actions were in response to “disruptive behavior.”

SB 553 has the potential to prevent suspensions and expulsions for more than 5,000 elementary school students in Oregon each year. The bill limits the circumstances when the youngest public school students can be excluded to incidents when a student causes serious physical injury to another student or staff member, when the student’s behavior poses a direct threat to health or safety or when required by federal law. The bill does not restrict the use of in-school suspension or other forms of discipline.

SB 553 was drafted by Youth, Rights & Justice, a Portland-based non-profit organization which represents children and youth in the juvenile court and education systems. Suspension and expulsion disproportionately impact students of color, low-income students, students with disabilities and children in foster care. African-American students are suspended at roughly three times the rate of white students in Oregon, a problem that starts in kindergarten. Supporters include the Oregon Alliance for Education Equity, Stand for Children, Portland Parent Union, the Northwest Health Foundation, ACLU- Oregon, and the City of Portland Office of Equity and Human Rights’ Black Male Achievement Committee.

Youth, Rights & Justice executive director, Mark McKechnie, said, “We applaud the strong bipartisan support of the Oregon Legislature in passing SB 553 this session. Legislators from around the state recognize that suspension and expulsion have been overused in a way that is harmful to Oregon’s students, families, schools and communities.”

Testimony from BLACK MALE ACHIEVEMENT PORTLAND

May 6, 2015

Representative Margaret Doherty, Chair House Education Committee 900 Court St. NE, Hearing Room D Salem, OR 97301

Re: Support for SB 553

Dear Chair Doherty and Members of the Committee:

Black Male Achievement Portland is concerned about the disparity in discipline, specifically suspension and expulsion, in Oregon’s school systems. To say that there is a crisis in the educational outcomes for our youth of color, and specifically our Black youth, is in no way hyperbole. This is our next generation of leaders and the data are clear. Children of color are disproportionately disciplined, suspended and expelled, with Black boys the most impacted by exclusionary discipline.

Black Male Achievement Portland (BMA) is a collaborative under the auspices of the National League of Cities, led by a Steering Committee of Black men who represent over 20 organizations, non – profit, for profit, or governmental agencies. It focuses on the removal of barriers to accessing high quality and equitable employment, education, public safety, and livable communities on behalf of Black men and boys. BMA acts as a convener, facilitator, policy guide, and collective voice to obtain data, push for policy change, increase program scale, and exert influence to create awareness and change to improve outcomes for Black men and boys.

The idea of exclusionary discipline beginning as early as kindergarten goes against the fact that early instruction is critical to creating the love for learning that we hope to instill in our children, and the opportunities for success that the system is obligated to provide. In Oregon, Black youth are three times more likely than their white counterparts to be suspended or expelled. If, as we know, third grade reading ability is critical to continued success, such exclusionary discipline serves to undermine our efforts achieve that success. Further, research shows that exclusionary discipline significantly in creases the likelihood that a student will become 2 engaged in the juvenile justice system. We know that the “school to prison pipeline” is all too real. If exclusionary discipline can be attributed to the beginning of that pipeline, we have an obligation to use it sparingly, and with significant oversight.
For these reasons, BMA Portland supports any effort to minimize exclusionary discipline and asks this committee to thoughtfully consider and support Senate Bill 553.

Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the BMA through Dante J. James at dante.james@portlandoregon.gov, or at 503 – 823 – 4433.