TX: Dallas Schools Reconsider Suspension and Discipline Policies to Address Racial Disparities
April 27, 2021
If successful, a plan by Dallas public schools to rewrite its student discipline and suspension policies could be among the most progressive pushes for addressing racial disparities in schools. The plan would eliminate suspensions for “low-level infractions” and would see students paired with in-person and virtual resources aimed at supporting behavioral and mental health needs. “Suspension was never the right structure, but it is certainly not the right structure coming out of a global pandemic,” said former Dallas ISD school board trustee Miguel Solis. Dallas schools’ plan echoes national conversations around ways to fight racial disparities exacerbated during the pandemic – and mirrors plans in other places to re-evaluate the use of suspensions in school discipline policies.