BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Brevard Public Schools leaders heralded a reported 150% increase in discipline referrals over last fall, saying the public was finally getting a true picture of the situation inside classrooms.
The data discussed by board members Tuesday showed suspensions increased more than 40% year over year, and detentions increased 10%. There were also more referrals to the district’s alternative school.
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It came a year after a newly-empowered conservative majority on the school board stood with the county sheriff and said it was time to crack down on bad behavior. The district implemented a zero-tolerance cell phone policy, enhanced principal and teacher discipline abilities and brought in staff to handle referrals quickly.
“There were so many things that we’ve corrected,” Chairman Matt Susin said. “It’s a much better day in Brevard.”
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Susin attributed the changes to helping retain veteran bus drivers and said he expected to be fully staffed as of November. He admitted a $5 pay raise also helped.
He said he expected the discipline numbers to remain elevated through the end of the school year before sliding down next year as student behavior improved.
He said the district would focus on in-school suspensions as a corrective action and adjust practices throughout the year.
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“We want those students learning, we want those corrective strategies to be in place, and there’s no better place than inside the schools,” he explained.
His assessment was largely in line with the Brevard Federation of Teachers, which praised the new standards but said there was work to be done.
BFT Vice President Vanessa Skipper said the district needed to focus on the data being provided to analyze ways to cut down on incidents moving forward.
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She also said the district needed to treat discipline like a school subject, and educate the kids to help them avoid a future problem instead of just punishing them.
“Sometimes the teacher feels that if the student is removed for 20, 25 minutes and brought back to the classroom, there’s been kind of no mediation done to help with the behavior,” Skipper explained. “If the students aren’t going to come to us with the tools to exhibit behavior that’s appropriate for the school setting, we’ve got to be able to be willing to give them those tools as well.”
One other area of concern for some was demographic data showing more Black students were being sent to the alternative school than white students, even though Black students are outnumbered four to one by their white peers.
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In response, Susin pointed to the district’s Risk Ratio, which is a measurement the district calculates using the discipline rate of specific groups compared to discipline for all students. A lower score indicates more balanced discipline.
Since last year, the ratio for white students has risen, while Black students’ ratio fell. Demographic data for suspensions and detentions that could explain the changes was not provided.
Skipper suggested a more thorough analysis of the data would be needed to ensure Black students weren’t being unfairly targeted, and schools with higher Black populations were simply choosing to use the alternative school more.
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