Seattle Student Senate Statement on Discipline Investigation

Regarding the US Department of Educaiton's investigation, the Seattle Student Senate believes in fair treatment for all of Seattle's students.  The Student Senate believes that discipline against students must be taken appropriately and equitably.  As students, we are strongly opposed to any form of discrimination in the public education system that puts any group of students in a situation with a lesser educational opportunity.

 Regarding the Center School instruction, the Student Senate promotes the substantive exploration of social justice in our classrooms.  However, we believe that this must be done in a way that is comfortable for all students.  In a diverse society, with members coming from a variety of racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, we believe that students must be exposed to diversity through candid conversation.  However, we strongly encourage the district to consider teacher and student input in developing guidelines for social discussion.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Actually, the highest rate of disproportionality in discipline is for students with disabilities. That is an overlooked (and seemingly unimportant) issue. This is based on per incidence data. Most measures count per student data. So, if lots of students get discplinary action, then it counts many times. But if you use per incident data, and count each incidident, then we see that special ed students bear the brunt of inappropriate discipline. Further there is overwhelming evidence that many incidents are never recorded at all. Parents are called under the radar to come and pick up their students - and that is never recorded. If students with disabilities are excluded from classes for more than 10 days - the district must hold a "manifestation hearing", and consider the sources of the behavior. It's just so much easier to send the kid home - and not record it, and not hold the pesky manifestation hearing, and, at the end of the day, not educate the child. Isn't that just a lot easier?

-sped parent
3/6/13, 4:41 PM
Anonymous said…
Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

Sue in Zen Field
3/6/13, 8:12 PM
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