I research school discipline information
frequently as it informs my work. In 2012, when I
started to look for that data on the Louisiana Department of Education’s
website it was relatively easy to find what I was looking for and obtain
additional information. I used the
information to create a series of infographics called Suspension Matters to create
greater awareness of the use and impact of out-of-school suspensions in New
Orleans’ public schools. My organization wanted the information to be
accessible to families so we released the information in February 2013 to coincide
with the beginning of the school application period. The information included in Suspensions Matters allowed
families to have a fuller picture of the schools they were choosing for
students.
In mid-April 2014, I was researching data
on the website for a project to compare truancy and attendance rates with
suspension and expulsion data for schools in New Orleans. The website featured a new design and it took
longer to navigate the site to find the information, however I did find it and was
able to use the information in a presentation to a city-wide committee.
In June,
when I visited the website again for another project, I had a different
experience. I wanted to double check
some information that I had previously found and it was missing. GONE.
Two months later. I wondered at
first if school discipline data was missing for all schools. Sadly, the information was only absent for
schools in the Recovery School District (in both New Orleans and across the
state). I checked, and double-checked
for days and weeks, and still even now in September, the information is not
there. I find it curious that the
information is available for every other school district in the state, yet the
Recovery School District, which is a state-created district, has been exempted
from publishing the information on the state’s website.
Without data it is difficult, if not
impossible, to accurately measure our progress in creating quality schools for
all students and that data should include information
on school discipline policies and their impact on student participation. There is an undeniable relationship between
instructional time (and the lack thereof due to out-of-school suspensions) and
academic performance, therefore, analyzing school discipline policies is
instrumental in assessing future strategies for not only academic growth, but for
the social development of our youth. More
importantly, families should be equipped with all the information in order to
make the best decisions for their students.
It is troublesome that for some, that data is allowed to be missing from
the conversation.
