This week, we took a deep dive into suspension data from 2022-23 in Henrico Schools and how the division handles disciplinary issues and suspensions. We found that Black students made up a disproportionately high percentage of the students suspended that year, particularly the students who received out-of-school suspensions.
Suspension numbers also increased in 2022-23, with HCPS handing out a total of almost 12,000 suspensions to about 5,400 students (with some students being suspended multiple times). One middle school suspended nearly half of its student body at least once in 2022-23.
Read the full article here.
Although Black students comprise only one-third of Henrico Schools’ student population, they accounted for 63% of the students who were suspended at least once during the 2022-2023 school year, according to data provided to the Henrico Citizen by the school system. By contrast, white students (who also comprise about one-third of the student population), made up only 18% of students who were suspended.
The disparity was even more evident among students who received out-of-school suspensions (those given for more serious behavioral offenses) during the school year – 70% of whom were Black.
“The racial disparity is super concerning,” Henrico NAACP president Monica Hutchinson told the Citizen. “That tells me something’s not working, that we are missing a huge piece of the puzzle.”
Schools with majority Black student populations also had the highest suspension rates in Henrico during the 2022-23 school year, according to the data.
At Varina’s John Rolfe Middle, which is 83% Black, nearly half of the student body was suspended at least once during the 2022-2023 year. At Fairfield Middle, which is 89% Black, one-third of the student body was suspended.
All but one of the seven schools that suspended more than 20% of their student body in 2022-2023 are located in the Varina and Fairfield districts. Henrico School Board Chair Alicia Atkins, who represents the Varina District, said that broader issues in those communities – higher poverty rates, less access to healthcare, and fewer recreational opportunities – contribute to more discipline problems in the schools.
HCPS also handed out a higher number of suspensions – not just for Black students but for all student groups – in 2022-2023 compared to previous years.
Almost 12,000 suspensions were implemented in 2022-2023, while a little more than 9,000 were implemented in the COVID-19-shortened 2019-2020 school year.Since 2019, suspensions rates have been steadily rising each year, with 2020-2021 being the exception because of school closures due to COVID.
Around 5,400 HCPS students received at least one suspension in 2022-2023, meaning that some students were suspended more than once.
Hutchinson said the increase is worrisome. With such a high number of suspensions handed out, students may begin to view the punishment as “less of a big deal,” she said, making them less effective in changing behavior.
William Noel, the director of HCPS’s Disciplinary Review Hearing Office, said he witnessed a large spike in misbehavior, particularly fighting between students, when schools opened back up following COVID. He believes that many of the fights that would have occurred if students weren’t in virtual learning instead manifested the next year when students came back in-person.
Henrico Schools recorded about 14,500 behavior violations in 2022-2023 that could be grounds for suspension – either automatically or if the violation is repeated. The school division categorizes offenses from less severe, starting with violations such as “excessive noise” and “interrupting a class,” to more severe, such as “assault with firearm” and “aggravated sexual battery.”
The most common violation reported was “refusal to to comply with requests of staff in a way that interferes with the operation of the school,” which falls under the less severe “behaviors related to school operations” category.
Fighting between students was also a recurrent problem; the next most frequent violations were “fighting that results in no injury” and “engaging in reckless behavior that creates risk of injury,” which both fall under the more severe “behaviors of a safety concern” category.
During the following years, HCPS worked to make the division’s Code of Student Conduct less punitive and less exclusionary to certain demographics, Noel said, removing any “gender-specific” or “cultural-specific” language.
Henrico Schools also implemented new positive behavior interventions and support (or PBIS) programs in an effort to use more restorative practices. Currently, 67 of Henrico’s 75 schools have a PBIS program in place, led by a PBIS coach – typically a teacher taking on the additional duties.
HCPS also has worked to implement diversity and equity training for staff, HCPS Communications Director Eileen Cox said, encouraging staff to build personal relationships with their students and families.
“Our staff does go through culturally responsive training and education models through the Office of Equity, Diversity and Opportunity,” Cox said. “There is a focus on relationship building between staff and students, because if you understand where a student is coming from, what circ*mstance that they’re coming to school from, or what’s going on for them on a personal level, then you might understand their behaviors a little better.”
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