HELPING STUDENTS SUCCEED

1. ADDRESSING SUSPENSIONS HELPING STUDENTS SUCCEED

2. California Department of EducationSafe & Healthy Kids Program OfficeSuspension Information for 2008-09

3. What Students Need From Schools to Succeed • Academic, Psychological, and Social Support • Programs that address essential needs • Access to reliable transportation • Skilled professional teachers • Reliable and consistent discipline protocol and procedures • Classroom time

4. What is taking away from classroom learning time? • Problem Behaviors • According to Healthline, “problem behaviors are defined as troublesome, risk taking, or disruptive behavior that is more extreme than occasional errors in judgment and requires professional intervention to avoid legal difficulties” • Examples: • Delinquency, drug use, academic failure, risky sexual behavior, violence, property damage, vandalism and disregard of the rights of others

5. Suspension • Definition: • A disciplinary action that requires the student to be excluded from attending classes for a specified period of time • Intended purpose: • Suspensions were meant for legitimately serious offenses such as the possession of weapons, on-campus drug use and sales, and physical assaults on teachers, all of which are relatively rare in occurrence.

6. Current Methods of Suspension • Zero Tolerance Policy • Traditional Suspension • In-School Suspension

7. Zero Tolerance Policy and Traditional Suspension • Suspension is the primary zero tolerance method used within school settings. • Why It is an Ineffective Intervention: • Not used for its intended purpose • Racial and socioeconomic disproportionality • Not addressing the behavioral problem • Loss of Average Daily Attendance monies

8. Average Daily Attendance • Anaheim Union High School District • Each school receives ~ $33.00 per day for each student who attends school. • 2008-09 Katella High School: • 591 Suspensions • Could have saved $19,503 - $97,515 • This estimate is calculated with the assumption that each of the 591 suspensions with the length between one to five days. • Therefore, the total amount that was lost in 2008-09 due to suspensions is greater than $19,503.

9. In-School Suspension • Definition: • In-school suspension programs involve “excluding the problem student from the regular classroom while continuing to provide some type of educational experience”…it should “incorporate a developmental or rehabilitative focus that assumes misbehavior is a symptom of an underlying problem that must be identified and resolved.” • Ineffective Model • Punitive only • Effective Models • Academic and Therapeutic

11. SO WHAT WORKS? Benefiting the Entire School Community

12. IDEA, 2004 • IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act • Enables practitioners to use RTI as an alternative method for identifying children with learning disabilities as opposed to the IQ-achievement discrepancy test • 2 major criticisms: • 1. represents a wait-to-fail model antithetical to early intervention • 2. assumes that the low achievement of children is due to a learning disability, when often times it is a consequence of inadequate instructional methods • Enables and also provides early intervention to all children at-risk for school failure – IDEA permits districts to use as much as 15% of their special education monies to fund early intervention activities, such as RTI.

13. Response to Intervention (RTI) • “RTI is a tiered process of implementing evidence-based instructional strategies in the regular education setting and frequently measuring the student’s progress to determine whether the strategies are effective.” • Research indicates that in “schools with good discipline the emphasis was on positive behaviors and preventative measures, with punishment being used only as a last resort”

14. 3 Stages of Implementation • Tier 1: • “Universal strategies which include: • a high quality core curriculum, • research-based teaching strategies, • school-wide screening to identify students who are at-risk for difficulty, • and the design of supports for these students within their regular education classrooms”

15. 3 Stages of Implementation • Tier 2: • “Involves instructional modifications and assessments that are developed for students who do not respond sufficiently to Tier I strategies. • This process includes assessing students’ skills and evaluating the instructional environment, curriculum, and delivery of instruction.” • “Specific interventions are designed and delivered as needed, often in small group context, and students’ progress is measured frequently.”

16. 3 Stages of Implementation • Tier 3: • “Addresses the needs of students who continue to display an inadequate response to instruction despite the use of high quality strategies, evidence-based strategies at Tier 2.” • During this phase, “instruction and interventions are further individualized, and students may be referred for evaluation of eligibility for special education” • Data obtained using RTI procedures is considered a key component of eligibility determinations for specific learning disabilities

17. Why Should RTI Be Implemented in Our Schools? • Strategies are evidence-based and progress is monitored frequently • Interventions are consistently being monitored and evaluated, and are therefore shown to be more effective in addressing students’ problem behaviors and reducing the number of students who require special education • Cultural backgrounds and linguistic needs of the students and their families must be taken into consideration at all levels of intervention • Involves personnel who have expertise in instructional consultation and evaluation of individual progress and program effectiveness • Any student at any time may be supported through RTI procedures • RTI is flexible! • It can be built upon existing frameworks within a school and can be implemented in stages that meet students’ needs and staff members’ capacities

18. RTI Programs • Commonalities among various RTI Programs: • Administrative Support • Systematic Data Collection • Staff Support and Training • Parent Support and Involvement • Understanding of Legal Requirements (IDEA) • Realistic Time Line • Strong Teams • Integration with Existing Scheduling • Coordination of Existing Intervention Programs

19. Components of a Strong RTI Team • Cross-disciplinary group • Organized according to existing structures within the school • Core Team • Parent Involvement • Incorporation of RTI into the business and routine of the team • Have clear systems in place for evaluating and adjusting RTI approaches and for providing staff development

20. In Addition to Effective Interventions… • A consistent and reliable discipline protocol is needed • What are the procedures for suspending a student? • What behavior qualifies a suspension (objective criteria)? • Are these qualifications consistent throughout the district? Or do they vary from school to school, teacher to teacher? • Continuous teacher education with regards to classroom management?

21. GOAL:TO KEEP SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS SAFE • 1. Collect, analyze, and disaggregate student discipline data on suspensions by offense, race or ethnicity, and sex to identify possible disparities • Safety in Numbers – data collection model available free of charge by the U.S. Department of Education • 2. Develop objective criteria to use in suspension / expulsion decisions • 3. Set and annually review qualitative and measurable objectives to reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions and prevent school violence • 4. Work with students, parents, and community groups to articulate and explain school policy and practice.

22. Benefits of Alternatives to Suspension • Increase in Average Daily Attendance (ADA) • Decrease in discipline referrals • Suggested alternatives do not require any further funding from the schools • Effectively treat the underlying issues thereby decreasing the problem behaviors and re-offenses • Higher grades and achievement on standardized test scores due to the decrease in loss of instructional days for students

23. Alternatives to Suspension: Response to Intervention QUESTIONS?