With most students in virtual classroom during the 2020-21 school year, suspensions declined, “yet African American students and students with disabilities disproportionately received exclusionary discipline,” writes New York University’s Dr. Richard O. Welsh in a recently released study.
“In 2021–22, suspensions seem to be on the rise as educators grapple with stress accompanying the return to in-person learning,” adds Dr. Welsh, an assistant professor of education leadership and policy studies at NYU. “The practice of subjecting students to additional loss of instructional time due to suspensions and expulsions is increasingly questioned amid the trauma and lost instructional days due to the pandemic. How educators adjust their disciplinary practices to the COVID-19 pandemic and respond to the physical and emotional needs of students will likely shape future racial inequality in school discipline and student achievement.”
To read his full report, click here; The 74’s Jo Napolitano has more on the disproportionality of school discipline.