Milwaukee Public Schools Cited for Excessive Use of Suspensions

Milwaukee Public Schools have been cited in a recent report  for the overuse of suspensions.  Over reliance on suspensions reflect a lack of effective positive behavioral interventions in favor of "remove the child, remove the problem." The reality is that when the student comes back to school he or she is even more likely to offend again because he or she is now behind in work, class is not relevant and so the cycle goes. The process too often ends with students with special needs dropping out or becoming involved in criminal activity while out of school on suspension. I fully appreciate that order and discipline need to be maintained in school but more constructive and positive means need to used to prevent this harmful cycle that does not help students, schools or the larger community.

Comments

[David]

I would like to see how much the school district paid their attorneys to advise them in these same cases. Why are thics absent in IDEA law cases?

If the judge ruled that the school is in violation, how is the law firm that represents them exempt from having to reimburse our kid's educational funds to the school?

Even if the parents are not entitled to recover money paid to the school district's attorney (and the should be), the dollar amount should made public if the school is in violation of IDEA or ADA laws.

This would reduce the amount of effort and expense that is currently being put into navigaing around the procedural saveguards that are in place. It may even make following IDEA law a sensible option for our public schools.