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We drive policy change to improve the lives of Texas children today for a stronger Texas tomorrow.

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Dear John,

Today we released a new report ([link removed]) on Texas school districts suspending students in pre-k through second grade.

Building on our first report on the issue, our new report looks at what happened after the Texas Legislature decided that suspending four-year-olds or six-year-olds is a bad idea. In 2017, legislators recognized that suspensions disrupt little kids' education, fail to improve their behavior, and send our youngest students the message that school is not for them.

During that session, the Legislature passed HB 674 to virtually prohibit out-of-school suspensions in pre-k through second grade. The bill also outlined effective strategies for improving behavior and supporting teachers and students.

Our report found that the legislators and advocates who worked to pass HB 674 were successful in significantly reducing out-of-school suspensions in pre-k through second grade. 

We were also glad to see that the use of in-school suspensions did not increase as districts reduced out-of-school suspensions in these grades.

That's the good news — and we should celebrate it.

However, our analysis of suspensions during the 2017-18 school year also turned up some bad news on several fronts.

Unfortunately, our report found that in 2017-18, Texas school districts still suspended a high number of pre-k through second grade students — and disproportionately suspended certain populations of little kids.

Texas school districts still issued over 70,000 suspensions to kids in pre-k through second grade, including suspending little kids in pre-k nearly 3,000 times.

The number of in-school suspensions in these early grades remained essentially flat, decreasing just three percent.

Despite state law virtually prohibiting out-of-school suspensions in these grades, districts issued over 7,000 such suspensions.

Districts disproportionately suspended students in foster care and students in special education, who often have unmet academic, social, or emotional needs. Districts also disproportionately suspended Black students and boys, who early educators scrutinize more closely even in controlled academic studies with child actors behaving appropriately.

The greatest disparity was among students in foster care, whom Texas school districts suspended more than three times as often as other students in pre-k through second grade. Instead of suspending five-year-olds who already have been through abuse, neglect, and trauma, we need to provide these kids extra support and stability.

Additionally, we found pre-k suspensions in Killeen ISD and Jasper ISD were particularly concerning. 

Killeen ISD accounts for just 1.6 percent of the state's pre-k kids, but the district issued 44 percent of the state's pre-k in-school suspensions and more than half of the state's pre-k out-of-school suspensions.
 

In Jasper ISD in East Texas, the pre-k in-school suspension rate is 82 times higher than the state average. 

As we look forward, there's plenty of work for state leaders and school districts — and some new resources to help.

Our new report includes a number of recommendations for the state and for school districts to monitor and reduce suspensions in these early grades and to implement strategies that improve behavior while supporting teachers and students. Our previous report ([link removed]) includes additional details on the effective strategies that a growing number of districts are using.

Fortunately, schools now have more resources to implement these strategies. During the recent legislative session, state lawmakers increased funding for our schools. They also passed several student mental health bills that can help districts better address students' needs, respond effectively to children who have experienced trauma, and build up kids' skills for managing anger, anxiety, and conflict.

Share Our Report on Twitter ([link removed])

Donate to Our Work on Early Childhood Suspensions ([link removed])

We are grateful to The Meadows Foundation for its generous support for this research, and we appreciate all of you who are working to support young students and their teachers. 

We look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure that each and every Texas child can reach his or her potential.

Sincerely,

David Feigen

Early Childhood Policy Associate

@davidfeigen ([link removed])





1106 Clayton Lane Suite 111W | Austin, TX 78723 US

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