In October 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom approved SB 274, which will be effective starting July 1, 2024. This bill eliminates the use of suspension for minor misbehavior covered under the "disruption or willful defiance" category for California TK-12 students. The goal of this bill is to keep students in school and to combat wrongful suspensions directed at students of color, LGBTQ+ students, students from homeless backgrounds, etc. The article will cover what the bill entails and the possible effects the bill will have on student behaviors and views on school punishments.
Illustrated by Aleena Gao
Written by Gavia Grewal
Edited by Catherine Qin
School suspension and discipline policies have increased by 6% as behavior issues and teacher shortages have ramped up after the COVID-19 pandemic. Although suspension rates in the US have plateaued at 5% years before the pandemic, these rates have escalated after the pandemic. In New York City Public Schools, there was a 27% increase in suspension rates during the first half of the 2022-2023 school year compared to the same period in 2021. Due to this suspension surge, the Biden administration advised public schools to refrain from using discriminatory school punishment tactics and abide by civil rights guidelines in May 2023. A few months later on October 8, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom introduced Senate Bill (SB) 274, also known as “Keep Kids in School Bill,” and has been in effect since July 1, 2024.
Under SB 274, California TK-12 children will no longer be suspended under the "disruption or willful defiance" category for minor misbehavior. This measure aims to prevent wrongful suspensions of children in marginalized communities such as students who come from low-income or homeless backgrounds, are in the LGBTQIA+ community, and those of color, in order to keep more students in school. Newsom is trying to ensure that specific groups of students are not targeted because pupils in those communities are typically more likely to be suspended for defiant or disruptive conduct when compared to peers not associated with those groups. School districts are expected to provide information pertaining to student disciplinary actions, including suspensions, expulsions, and other measures on local educational agencies’ efforts to reduce the number of students who are regularly absent. The California Department of Education analyzes the data on school discipline practices to assess trends, identify disparities, and ensure compliance with state laws and regulations regarding student discipline.
Students who make up marginalized communities are greatly targeted and discriminated against within their school environment. The majority of black students, economically disadvantaged students, and special education students are three demographic subgroups that are inordinately suspended. A survey from the 2017-18 Civil Rights Data Collection made that evident when data revealed that “In 2017-18, Black students received 31.4% one or more in-school suspensions and 38.2% one or more out-of-school suspensions” compared to their peers. Statistics from the California School Boards Association also show that students of American Indian, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, and African American descent, as well as those in the Latinx group, have significantly higher rates of chronic absenteeism. Attendance and discipline policies are some factors as to why many of these students are absent.
Absenteeism has only increased over the past years to around 30% and socioeconomically disadvantaged students comprise the vast majority of chronically absent students. Absenteeism also increased because classes at schools with the highest percentages of low-income students were more likely to be taught by a teacher without full credentials and students who perceive their teacher as unqualified tend to become disinterested in attending classes regularly because of the lower quality of teaching. Statistics from the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights made this apparent when data showed that schools with a higher proportion of inexperienced teachers were more likely to have Black, Latino, American Indian, and Native Alaskan students enrolled. School disciplinary actions also greatly affect those who identify within the LGBTQIA+ community. The amount of absenteeism has also increased amongst students within the LGBTQIA+ community due to the sharp rise of school hate crimes that target this community and the states that have passed laws restricting LGBTQIA+ student rights and education. According to a report from GLSEN, “4.1% of LGBTQ students who had missed school because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable had been involved with the justice system due to school discipline.”
Targeted suspensions for these communities negatively affect the students within them. Suspensions are linked to low academic performance in high school, measured by a student’s attendance and grades. Students suspended once are also more likely to be punished again, increasing the risk of dropping out of high school to 32%. Disciplinary actions such as suspension are interrelated with other indicators of student disengagement from school, leading to course failures and absenteeism. Those suspended not only start to perform negatively in school but also outside of their school environment, eventuating various negative outcomes such as detainment. The Havard Graduate School of Education found that students in schools with high suspension rates were 15 to 20 more likely to face later arrest. Schools choose to use the disciplinary action of suspension because it is cheap, convenient, and familiar, and many parents agree with this method of punishment. They believe suspending students keeps students perceived as bad apples away from their peers. Parents are also concerned that students who should be suspended are instead disrupting the classroom because they are not being disciplined.
In order to diminish suspension and alleviate parents’ concerns, different methods of disciplinary action have been created and adopted in many schools. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) programs were enacted where methods of active supervision, increased access to academic support, and social-emotional support were available in schools to fix students’ problems instead of avoiding them. Additional methods such as PBIS teach students that meeting behavioral expectations is rewarded with positive outcomes. In classrooms, circle discussions with students help address issues students have and find a positive solution to them while early-warning indicators have been implemented and have already seen positive effects such as increased attendance and decreased disciplinary referrals. These programs have a team of educators meet with the students involved and assess the choices made, take responsibility for the choices, and make connections with the student who was hurt and the student who did the hurting.
Groups and coalitions such as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, the American Civil Liberties Union, and California Action have voiced their support for these methods and SB 274 because these organizations will help to prevent absenteeism and dropout rates while still imparting the important lesson of not being rowdy. States such as Nebraska, Georgia, and Texas already have PBIS programs and have seen a dramatic decrease in school absences. One school in California found that absences have decreased between 3% to 5% per month.
Cutting suspensions will not only positively affect school attendance, but also help California’s economy as the state is not getting a return on investment for the billions of dollars they used for increased learning opportunities at schools. According to a 2016 UCLA study, reducing suspension rates by 50 for just one cohort of students would result in economic savings of $3.1 billion. High school suspensions cost the country $35 billion as more high school suspensions lead to fewer graduating students, damaging California’s fiscal condition and hurting the economy as a whole. In many school districts, school funding depends on the average daily student attendance, meaning each day a student is absent, the school loses a part of its funding for that day. Statewide, school districts in California lost $3.6 billion in annual funding in 2024 due to student absences according to the California Department of Education. Schools rely on student attendance to continue adequately providing resources and education for students.
SB 274 is reshaping school disciplinary policies in California by prohibiting suspensions of minor misbehavior to stop targeting students from marginalized communities. The bill aims to foster a positive environment for all students to succeed academically and emotionally by moving away from punitive actions such as suspensions and implementing more restorative and supportive interventions. Initial trials have displayed encouraging outcomes, suggesting decreased rates of absences and better academic performance. This bill will ensure that fair and inclusive educational opportunities are given to all students regardless of their family’s income, race, or identity. To track the progress and effectiveness of the bill, school data collection on the number of chronically absent students and their backgrounds and using that data to identify the root of the problem will continue to encourage more equitable solutions to end chronic absenteeism.
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