AAP advocates against school suspensions, expulsions
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Key takeaways:
- Excluding children from school can have lasting negative effects on academic performance and health, the AAP said.
- Physicians should learn about school policies and have conversations with school staff.
ORLANDO — In a new policy statement, the AAP advocated for a trauma-informed approach to addressing behavioral issues in schools instead of using exclusionary discipline like suspension and expulsion.
The statement was based on evidence from decades of research showing that excluding children from school does not improve behavioral issues and can have consequences that last into adulthood, according to the AAP.
“We know as pediatricians that excluding kids from the classroom doesn’t help, doesn’t change their behavior, and it certainly doesn’t help them learn,” AAP president Benjamin D. Hoffman, MD, FAAP, told Healio at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition.
“With this policy statement and the science behind it, we’re hoping to move past a culture where suspension and expulsion were the answer and more toward a trauma-informed inclusive approach to ensuring that every child has access to education and the resources they need to be able to learn and thrive,” Hoffman said.
During the 2020-2021 school year, 1.4 million students were suspended, and more than 28,000 were expelled, Nathaniel Beers, MD, MPA, FAAP, executive vice president of community and population health at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., said during a presentation at the conference. Most of those punishments were not due to violent or criminal offenses, according to Beers, who noted that more than 28% of suspended students were suspended again during the 2020-2021 school year.
In the policy statement, Beers and colleagues reported disparities in exclusionary punishment based on race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and disabilities. Beers said a larger proportion of Black children were suspended or expelled from schools as early as preschool.
“That early in education, we are sending a message that they do not belong, and that their behavior is the reason that they should not be in school,” Beers said.
American Indian and Alaska Native children, LGBTQ+ students and students with individualized education programs also were more likely to be suspended or expelled from schools, he said.
According to the policy statement written by Beers, Susanna K. Jain, MD, FAAP, from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and Ryan Padrez, MD, FAAP, from the Stanford University School of Medicine, exclusionary punishment can have negative effects on students’ academic performance and can have long-term effects on their health and future earning potential.
In addition, it “greatly increases a child’s likelihood of being involved in the juvenile justice system, even as early as during the same month the child is suspended or expelled,” they wrote.
For physicians, the AAP recommended asking patients and caregivers about the patient’s attendance, whether they have been suspended or expelled from school, or if they have been hit by a teacher or staff member.
It is also important for pediatricians to learn about the policies in their local school districts, and to become familiar with behavioral health and legal resources to refer families to, Beers said. It may also help to have a conversation with school staff about the issues they are seeing in school, he said.
“The power of your MD at the end of your name does remind people that our people are paying attention,” Beers said.
Physicians can also advocate against exclusionary punishment in their local school districts or at the state level or national level, he said. Instead of suspensions and expulsions, Beers said schools need more mental health services, more funding for special education and to adopt behavioral management strategies that focus on promoting positive behaviors.
“We want every kid in a seat every single day, and if we are going to keep them engaged in school, we have to keep them in the building,” Beers said. “Once we push them out of the building, we lose control.”
References:
- AAP. American Academy of Pediatrics examines the impact of school expulsion and recommends ways to create supportive learning environments for all students. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1058507. Published Oct. 1, 2024. Accessed Oct. 2, 2024.
- Allison MA, et al. Pediatrics. 2023;doi:10.1542/peds.2023-063284.
- Beers N, et al. Abstract S5207. Presented at: AAP National Conference & Exhibition; Sept. 27-Oct. 1, 2024; Orlando.
- Jain SK, et al. Pediatrics. 2024;doi:10.1542/peds.2024-068466.
- Williams PG, et al. Pediatrics. 2023;doi:10.1542/peds.2023-064049.
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Beers N, et al. Abstract S5207. Presented at: AAP National Conference & Exhibition; Sept. 27-Oct. 1, 2024; Orlando.
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