Early Childhood & Discipline
School-to-prison pipeline issues impacting students from pre-k to elementary school and efforts to reduce the use of exclusionary discipline on these students
Key Facts and Data Trends
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Discipline of Early Learners – Summary of Laws, District Policies and Federal Resources, ACLU of Pennsylvania, updated August 2019
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Ending Corporal Punishment of Preschool-Age Children, The Brookings Institution, October 13, 2020
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Kicking Kids out of Preschool is Damaging Experts Say. So Why is it Still Happening? NBC News, August 2019
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School Discipline in Preschool Through Grade 3, National Conference of State Legislatures, April 2019
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The Single Biggest Risk Factor in Getting Expelled Is Being a Preschooler, Governing, November 13, 2018
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Substantial Racial Stereotyping toward Young Children of Color Found among White Adults Who Work with Them, Harvard School of Public Health, September 12, 2018
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Corporal Punishment and Preschoolers: What New Federal Data Show, Education Week, May 11, 2018
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Why Is It So Hard to Stop Suspending Kindergartners?, The Hechinger Report, May 31, 2017
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4 Disturbing Facts About Preschool Suspension, Center for American Progress, March 30, 2017
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Even Preschool Teachers Can Be Guilty of Racially Stereotyping Black Babies, The Hechinger Report, September 28, 2016
Major Reports
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Preschool Suspension and Expulsion: Defining the Issues, Institute for Child Success, December 2018
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Delivering on the Promise of Effective Early Childhood Education, National Black Child Development Institute, December 2018
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Stereotyping Across Intersections of Race And Age: Racial Stereotyping among White Adults Working with Children, PLOS One, September 12, 2018
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Are Schools Flouting Texas Law Banning Suspensions? My Statesman, July 8, 2018
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Keeping Kids in Class: Pre-K Through 2nd Grade Suspensions in Texas and a Better Way Forward, Texas Care for Children, March 2018
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Suspensions Are Not Support: The Disciplining of Preschoolers with Disabilities, Center for American Progress, January 17, 2018
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New Data Reveal 250 Preschoolers Are Suspended or Expelled Every Day, Center for American Progress, November 6, 2017
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A Breakthrough in Discipline Reform for Early Learners (Maryland), July 17, 2017
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Suspended Childhood: An Analysis of Exclusionary Discipline of Texas’ Pre-K and Elementary School Students, Texas Appleseed, March 2017
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Early Childhood Expulsions and Suspensions Undermine Our Nation’s Most Promising Agent of Opportunity and Social Justice (article and issue brief), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, September 2016
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Do Early Educators’ Implicit Biases Regarding Sex and Race Relate to Behavior Expectations and Recommendations of Preschool Expulsions and Suspensions?, A Research Study Brief, Yale Child Study Center, September 28, 2016,
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Point of Entry: The Preschool-to-Prison Pipeline, Center for American Progress, October 2015
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Pre-Kindergartners Left Behind: Expulsion Rates in State Pre-Kindergarten Programs, Foundation for Child Development, June 15, 2010 (Report)
Campaigns for Change
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Stop the Madness: Purging the Preschool to Prison Pipeline, National Black Child Development Institute, collection of articles, including What's Wrong With Criminalizing Our Early Learners?
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A Breakthrough in Discipline Reform for Early Learners, American Civil Liberties Union, July 17,2017
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Parent Power Bootcamp: Call to Action Toolkit, National Black Child Development Institute, May 2017
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Keep Young Students in Class, Texas Appleseed, February 2017, one page handouts used in successful campaigns in Dallas and Austin, Texas
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Banning Classroom Removals for Young Children Policy Guide, Texas Appleseed, February 2016
District Policies
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Philadelphia School District ends suspensions from kindergarten through second grade. June 21, 2018. Kindergarten, first, and second grade students shall not be suspended from school unless their actions result in serious bodily injury. See new policy, administrative procedures, press release. and article.
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Pittsburgh Public Schools revises student discipline policy for pre-K through second grade, December 20, 2017. Effective September 1, 2018, the district prohibits the out of school suspension of students in grades prior to the third grade for non-violent minor disciplinary infractions, as defined by the district. See article.
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Austin Texas Independent School District revises student discipline for pre-K through second grade, February 27, 2017. No elementary student prior to third grade shall be home suspended, placed into a disciplinary alternative education program or expelled, unless when required by law or for behavior that represents a clear and present danger of physical injury to the student, other students or school personnel. Principals and teachers must also consult parents or guardians prior to a home suspension. The district will provide additional staff to support schools in their efforts to address discipline challenges and student behavior and provide professional development to school officials to create a “responsive and supportive learning environment.”
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Dallas Texas Independent School District revises discipline policy for students in pre-K–2nd grade. February 23, 2017. Beginning in the Fall of 2017, students in pre-K–2nd grade who commit Level 1 offenses — the lowest-level infractions such as classroom disruption and bus misconduct — will not receive out-of-school suspensions. Level 2 and 3 offenses – such as fighting and bullying – can still be punishable with out-of-school suspensions. School staff will receive ongoing training on behavior management practices that increase a positive school climate and deescalate disciplinary challenges. The District shall use disaggregated disciplinary data to inform actions that identify inequities and reduce student discretionary suspensions with the goal to eliminate such suspensions by the 2022-23 school year except as required by law. The District will also identify the top third of elementary schools with the highest percentage of disciplinary actions that need additional support, and annually report on student disciplinary data to the board.
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Seattle (Washington) School District, resolution No. 2014/15-35. Effective with the 2015-16 school year, eliminates out-of-school suspensions for students kindergarten through 5th grade for “disruptive conduct,” “rule breaking,” or “disobedience.” The policy directs the superintendent to develop a proposal by June 2016 for a district-wide reduction in out-of-school suspensions at all grade levels, paying special attention to disproportionality in discipline for students of color, Special Education, and English Language Learners.
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Minneapolis Public Schools introduces moratorium on elementary suspensions for Nonviolence. In 2014, Minneapolis Public Schools superintendent Bernadeia Johnson declared a moratorium on suspensions for students in first grade and younger for nonviolent behavior. In 2015 the following superintendent extended the moratorium on suspensions for nonviolent behavior through the fifth grade. The current district policy does not prohibit suspensions for K-5, but requires schools to consider a student’s age and understanding for K-5 students before removal from school.
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Chicago Public School system modifies suspension policy for pre-K through 2nd grade, September 2, 2014. Amended Student Code of Conduct places stronger limits on the use of suspensions and emphasizes instructive, corrective, and restorative responses to student behavior. The code requires high level authorization for suspensions of pre-kindergarten through second grade students.
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Baltimore Public Schools modifies student code of conduct for 2014-2015. Under the revised policy, administrators must contact the director of suspension services for guidance and support before proposing Level 3 or 4 consequences (short-term suspensions, extended suspensions, or transfer to an alternative program) if the student is in Pre‑K or kindergarten.
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Houston School District restricts disciplinary actions that may be taken against students prior to the third grade, January 2016. Beginning with the 2016–2017 school year, no student shall be informally sent home. No student prior to third grade shall be suspended, placed into a disciplinary alternative setting, or expelled, except as required by law. Disciplinary actions that remove students from their school setting shall be used as a last resort for other elementary students in third through fifth grades.
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Denver Public Schools, as of March 2017, prohibits lengthy suspensions for prekindergarten through third graders. The district permits only one day maximum out-of-suspensions for students in preschool through third grades and only for severe behavior offenses that impact student or staff safety. Children in preschool through third grades can only be expelled for bringing a firearm to school.
Pennsylvania Resources
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Promoting Inclusion and Reducing Expulsion and Suspension, comprehensive web portal to Pennsylvania resources, Pennsylvania Office of Childhood Development and Early Learning
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Policy Statement: Reduction of Expulsion and Suspension in Early Childhood Programs in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Office of Childhood Development and Early Learning, effective July 1, 2017
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Policy Statement: Inclusion of All Children in Early Childhood Programs in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Office of Childhood Development and Early Learning, effective July 1, 2017
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Resolution of Pennsylvania's State Interagency Coordination Council: Ban Exclusionary Discipline in Early Learning Programs, April 6, 2016
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Preschool to Prison Pipeline: Exclusionary Discipline in Preschool Programs, presentation to Pennsylvania's Office of Child Development and Early Learning leadership retreat by the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Education Law Center of PA, November 2016
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Discipline Policies in Pennsylvania's Public Schools: Report of the Advisory Committee on Zero Tolerance School Discipline Policies, Joint State Government Commission, October 2016, report of a one year study commissioned by the PA House recommends restricting suspensions and expulsions of students under the age of 10, executive summary, full report , analysis, and news article
Federal Resources
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State and Local Action to Prevent Expulsion and Suspension in Early Learning Settings: Spotlighting Progress in Policy and Supports, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, November 2016
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Policy Statement on Expulsion and Suspension Polices in Early Childhood Settings, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Education, December 10, 2014
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#RethinkDiscipline in Early Childhood Settings, [Video}, U.S. Department of Education, October 15, 2015. Assistant Secretary of Education Michael Yudin Discusses Efforts to End the Use of Exclusionary Discipline for Young Children with Walter Gilliam (Yale University), Myra Jones-Taylor (Commissioner of Early Childhood, State of Connecticut) and Beth Mascitti-Miller (Chicago Public Schools).
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Civil Rights Data Collection, Data Snapshot: Early Childhood Education, U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, Issue Brief, No. 2, March 2014