Suspension numbers rise in Cedar Rapids schools

CEDAR RAPIDS - The total number of students suspended in Cedar Rapids schools last school year increased compared to the year before, according to a report presented to the school board Monday.

Furthermore, more of those students were black than in the previous year, part of a continuing racial disparity student discipline in the Cedar Rapids Community School District and others across the country.

The Cedar Rapids district has been under investigation since January 2014 for allegedly discriminating against black students by disciplining them at rates disproportionate to their percentages of enrollment.

The district since the 2013-14 school year has been focusing more on teaching students positive behaviors and working with them to resolve conflicts rather than only removing them from school, director of learning supports Paul Hayes told board members Monday.

Specifically, the district's data show:

' The number of students given out-of-school suspensions districtwide increased in 2014-15 to 1,280 from 980 in 2013-14. That came after two years of drops since 2011-12, when 1,568 students were given out-of-school suspensions.

' The total number of out-of-school suspensions given followed a similar pattern, increasing to 2,086 in 2014-15 from 1,881 in 2013-14 after two years of drops from 3,045 in 2011.

' Of the students who were suspended out of school at least once in 2014-15, 46 percent were black, even though only 15 percent of the district's students overall were black. That number was up from 2013-14, when 38 percent of the suspended students were black and 15 percent of students overall were black.

' Middle school students were more likely to be suspended than those in elementary or high school. In 2014-15, 15 percent of all middle school students received at least one out-of-school suspension, compared to 4 percent of elementary school students and 9 percent of high school students.

Suspensions also disproporionately impact boys, foster students, low-income students and students with disabilities, administrators said.

To reduce disparities and overall suspensions, Hayes said, the district has implemented curricula such as Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports, which teaches students the behaviors schools expect before punishing them for behaviors deemed inappropriate.

Principals and other administrators also are using a restorative justice approach to teach students conflict resolution skills, Hayes said. And Edwin Javius, an equity consultant for the district, now has been in front of every Cedar Rapids teacher for a full-day inservice on cultural consciousness.

The district also needs a clear and consistent definition of disruptive behavior, said Ellen Daye-Williams, the district's manager of student discipline and attendance, whose position was created this summer.

More than a third of suspensions given in 2014-15 - 36 percent - were for disruptive behavior, according to the district data.