Category Archives: Harsh Disciplinary Policies

Welcome to the Suspension Stories Website!

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Suspensionstories

It has taken well over a year but we are pleased today to officially launch the Suspension Stories Website.  This initiative is a partnership between the Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team (YWAT) and Project NIA. This youth-led participatory action research … Continue reading →

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This is really incomprehensible…

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Suspensionstories

The Birmingham city school system, responding to a lawsuit challenging the use of pepper spray against students, argues that the system has no federal constitutional duty to protect students’ safety from the actions of third parties — in this case, … Continue reading →

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Suspensions Dramatically Increase in NYC & Disproportionately Target Blacks/Special Ed Students

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Suspensionstories

The number of student suspensions in New York City public schools spiked dramatically over the past decade while the length of suspensions grew longer – a phenomenon disproportionally affecting black students and students with disabilities, according to a report released … Continue reading →

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7 Year-Old Suspended For Finger Pointing…

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Suspensionstories

Dispatch from Oklahoma: OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 21 (UPI) — An Oklahoma woman said she was outraged when school officials gave her 7-year-old son an in-school suspension for pointing his finger like a gun. School officials — without confirming the identity … Continue reading →

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A Teen Suicide Leads to Questions about Harsh School Disciplinary Policies

Posted on January 23, 2011 by Suspensionstories

From the Washington Post: The apparent suicide of a 15-year-old high school football player in Fairfax County has sparked concern about the school district’s disciplinary policies, which critics say are overly punitive and often debilitating for students. The concerns come … Continue reading →

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Is America Criminalizing Childhood?

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Suspensionstories

A dramatization of how U.S. schools are criminalizing students as young as 6 years old…

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Kev Martinez: ‘When I Do Math” Poem about School Pushout

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Suspensionstories
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More Police, More Tickets, More Criminalization of Youth

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Suspensionstories

With more police in schools, Texas kids get more tickets Spike in tickets for kids as young as 6 as number of campus officers has increased By TERRENCE STUTZ Dallas Morning News AUSTIN – Students in Dallas and other urban … Continue reading →

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Youth Activists Challenge the School to Prison Pipeline: A Panel Discussion

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Suspensionstories

Youth Activists Challenge the School to Prison Pipeline from Mariame Kaba on Vimeo. Project NIA partnered with the Mansfield Institute for Social Justice at Roosevelt University to organize a panel of youth activists discussing the school to prison pipeline on … Continue reading →

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In Baltimore, Fewer Suspensions Equals Better Results

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Suspensionstories

From the Washington Post, this report about the impact of reducing suspensions on the educational outcomes of young black men: We have long known that excessive use of suspension and expulsion results in higher rates of school absence, academic failure … Continue reading →

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Update on 5th Grader Who Was Suspended for Peppermint Oil

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Suspensionstories

Here is another example of “zero tolerance” policies run amok from Long Island where a 5th grader was suspended for bringing peppermint oil to school. Administrators at a Long Island school suspended a 10-year-old girl for bringing peppermint oil to … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit: Beatings and Pepper Spray to Punish Students in Birmingham

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Suspensionstories

From Change.org, we learn the following: Birmingham’s school district and police chief are being sued for a different injustice: pepper spraying defenseless children as a common practice to enforce discipline. How sad that in the city forever connected to Dr. … Continue reading →

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