Long-term Suspension Rates Decline in 2010-11
September 1, 2011 - Fewer Wake County students were long-term suspended and more students availed themselves of alternative educational programs during the last school year.
The Wake County Public School System saw a 22.3 percent decrease in its number of students placed on long-term suspension in the 2010-11 school year. 647 students were placed on long-term suspension in 2010-11, compared with 833 students in 2009-10.
Of those 647 students in 2010-11, 320 declined the opportunity to continue their education through alternative programs. Fifty-three students with disabilities received ongoing educational services, and 274 students participated in the SCORE (Second Chance Online Resource for Education) program.
In its year-end report to the state Department of Public Instruction, WCPSS inaccurately reported the number of students long-term suspended in 2010-11. WCPSS previously cited 320 as the number of students long-term suspended, technically incorrectly characterizing the other 327 students receiving alternative programs as not long-term suspended.
"DPI counts any student having been out of school longer than 11 days as being officially long-term suspended," said Superintendent Tony Tata. "That is regardless of whether we are providing them alternative academic instruction. Although our decline in long-term suspensions is significant, we overstated it in our initial report to DPI. We are accountable for this mistake."
If a student begins alternative education programs within 11 days of leaving school, that student is not considered long-term suspended.
Of the 292 students served by SCORE in 2010-11 (long- and short-term suspended), 247 successfully completed the program.
As part of its ongoing commitment to reducing long-term suspensions and maintaining student learning, WCPSS is streamlining the bureaucratic requirements for enrolling disciplined students in alternative programs. Transition counselors now alert parents to their students' options by telephone or in person rather than using the mail. Discipline Review Committee meetings to confirm students' enrollment in alternative education programs have been increased from weekly to twice weekly.
"We are making progress, but we have more barriers to lower in order to ensure that we properly serve and support our students in alternative programs," said Tata. "We can and will simultaneously process a student's suspension appeal and their application for alternative placement, something we were not doing before. We have to engage our students and make sure that they move forward, not backward, even when they are separated from their schools."
| 2010-11 | 2009-10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total long-term suspended | 647 | 833 |
| LTS students not receiving alternative education | 320 | 490 |
| LTS students enrolled in SCORE program | 274 | 221 |
| LTS students with disabilities receiving services | 53 | 122 |