Most public school districts rely heavily on suspensions for student discipline. Section 2801 of the Education Law requires that school districts create a code of conduct, and one of the most common punishments for a violation of the code is out of school suspension

Smith, Marnie

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Buffalo Commons Centers, Institutes, Programs 
4-29-2009 
Public School Discipline: Alternatives to Suspension 
Marnie Smith 
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Public School Discipline: Alternatives to Suspension 
Abstract 
Most public school districts rely heavily on suspensions for student discipline. Section 2801 of the 
Education Law requires that school districts create a code of conduct, and one of the most common 
punishments for a violation of the code is out of school suspension. 
Keywords 
Buffalo, Education, School Discipline, Fact Sheet, PPG, PDF 
This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/buffalocommons/285 
  Fact Sheet                                                                 April 29, 2009 
 
 
Public School Discipline: Alternatives to Suspension  
Marnie Smith   
 
Most public school districts rely heavily on suspensions for student 
discipline.  Section 2801 of the Education Law requires that school 
districts create a code of conduct, and one of the most common 
punishments for a violation of the code is out of school suspension. 
 
What is the process for suspending a student? 
• Under state law, a principal, superintendent, or school board 
may suspend a “pupil who is insubordinate or disorderly or 
violent or disruptive, or whose conduct otherwise endangers 
the safety, morals, health or welfare of others.”1  
• The suspension can be for up to five school days.2 
• The student is entitled to notice of the charged misconduct, 
and the student and parent must be given an opportunity for 
an informal conference with the principal where they can 
present their side of the story to the principal and ask questions of 
the complaining witnesses.3    
• If the suspension will be for longer than five days, the student and 
parent must be given an opportunity for a fair hearing, upon 
reasonable notice.4   
• The student may be represented by an attorney and has the right to 
question witnesses against the student and to present witnesses and 
evidence on his/her side.5   
• The superintendent shall hear and determine the proceeding, or 
may designate a hearing officer to conduct the hearing.  A record 
of the hearing shall be maintained (a tape recording is sufficient). 6 
• The hearing officer shall make findings of fact and 
recommendations as to the appropriate discipline to the 
superintendent. The superintendent may accept all or any part of 
the findings and recommendations. 7 
• The superintendent’s decision can be appealed to the board of 
education, which shall makes its decision solely on the record 
before it.  The board may adopt in whole or in part the decision of 
the superintendent.8 
 
 
 
  
 Fact Sheet                                                 
How long are students suspended from school?
Generally, school districts have the authority to determine 
appropriate penalties for their stude
requirement in the law provides that “Consistent with the 
federal gun
four, any public school pupil who is determined under this 
subdivision to have brought a weapon to school shall be suspended fo
period of not less than one calendar year.”
have the authority to modify this suspension requirement for each student 
on a case-by-case basis.
 
Some districts have zero
automatically suspended for certain offenses.  In most districts, the length 
of the suspension is dependent on the severity of the misconduct and the 
student’s disciplinary history.  
 
What happens to students who are suspended?
Education Law requires that the school di
elsewhere or supervision or detention of any student of compulsory under 
16 years old who has been suspended.
 
What are the goals of suspension?  
• Address real and perceived immediate threats to a student’s own
safety or to the safet
• Secure a safe educational environment that is conducive to both 
teaching and learning.
• Punish students who do not follow the rules.
• Deter future misconduct.
• Change behavior of students.
• Enable students to learn from their mistakes so that th
successfully complete their schooling and become contributing 
members of society.
• Provide a cooling
frustrated educators
• Create warnings for parents who may not have taken the
misbehavior seriously and who may have considered
behaviors to be purely the school’s responsibility.
• In some cases, to eliminate troublesome students from
educational system.
 
                
 
nts.  The only 
-free schools act of nineteen hundred ninety
9
  However, superintendents 
10
    
-tolerance policies where students are 
 
 
strict provide instruction 
11
 
Many districts can implement alternative education 
quickly through an alternative learning center or home 
instruction, while others do not have the resources for 
other instruction readily available, and the students 
suffer gaps in their education.   
 
y of others.12 
13
 
 
 
 
ey can 
 
-off period for the offending student as well as for 
 and administrators.14  
ir
 problem 
15
 
 
 
 the 
16
 
2 
April 29, 2009 
-
r a 
 
 child’s 
  
3 
 Fact Sheet                                                                 April 29, 2009 
What are some arguments against the use of suspension? 
• In the long term, many student suspensions hamper, rather than 
improve student safety.17 
• Suspension is not an effective measure against misbehavior in 
school; it is a significant contributor to poor academic performance 
figures and high drop-out rate.18  
• Missing school results in poor academic performance, which is a 
strong indicator for dropping out of school.19   
• Suspension does not reduce the number of 
subsequent suspensions (no deterrent effect), nor 
curb misbehavior in schools.20   
• There is strong evidence that youths who 
are suspended once tend to be suspended again.21   
• “There is strong evidence of a direct causal 
link between suspension and criminal conduct.”22 
• Research shows a clear correlation between suspensions and both 
low achievement and dropping out of school altogether.  Such 
research also demonstrates a link between dropping out of school 
and incarceration later in life.23 
• Student suspensions play a pivotal role in perpetuating the “School 
to Prison Pipeline.” Schools directly send students into the pipeline 
through zero tolerance policies that involve the police in minor 
incidents, which too often lead to arrests, juvenile detention 
referrals, and even incarceration. Schools indirectly push students 
into the criminal justice system by excluding them from school 
through suspension, expulsion, discouragement and high stakes 
testing requirements. 24 
•  “In 2006, the American 
Psychological Association found 
that zero tolerance policies have 
been ineffective in reducing 
violence in schools and have instead 
increased disciplinary problems and 
dropout rates in middle schools and 
high schools…The report also found that zero tolerance policies 
have led to an over-representation of students of color in school 
discipline processes.”25 
What are the biggest problems with the suspension system? 
• There is no immediate cause and effect.26 
o Children do not understand why they are being punished. 
o The punishment does not link with the misbehavior. 
• The individuals implementing the punishment are too far removed 
from the student. 
  
4 
 Fact Sheet                                                                 April 29, 2009 
o The students have no relationship with superintendents, 
school district attorneys or hearing officers who dole out 
suspensions. 
• Students and parents have no input. 
o They often feel helpless and are not motivated to change 
behaviors or support the district’s unilateral long-term 
suspension. 
• Students that are suspended from school have nowhere else to go, 
or no one at home to ensure they are staying out of trouble. 
 
How can the current suspension system be improved?   
Suspensions are sometimes unavoidable, and districts need the power to 
suspend students who are a danger to themselves, to others, or to the 
learning environment.  Changes in how suspensions are imposed can help 
to better achieve the goals. 
• Provide Support Services 
o Mediation, counseling or other treatment programs in 
school. 
o Referrals to other medical professionals outside of school. 
• Individual Assessment - Although consistency is important, each 
child and each situation is different.  The district will need some 
ability to assess each incident individually, so as to best develop a 
punishment that is appropriate for each student. 
• Inclusion of the Parents - If the parents understand and support the 
district’s reasoning, they will be more likely to encourage 
their child to meet the requirements.  If parents do not 
agree with what the district is doing, their children are 
less likely to abide by the rules.  Invite parents to help 
brainstorm the discipline.27 
• Inclusion of the Student - Give the student some 
responsibility for his punishment.  This can be done with 
behavior contracts or suspension reduction opportunities.  If the 
student takes some control over his own behaviors, he or she will 
be more likely to learn from their mistakes and to behave properly 
in the future. 
• Immediate Consequences – Students need to understand the cause 
and effect, and that the suspension is the result of their behaviors.  
The five-day suspension should be taken more seriously and used 
more effectively.28 
• Keep discipline at the building, rather than district, level – 
Discipline can be handed out more quickly, the students are more 
likely to recognize and respect their own building officials, 
individual attention and assessment is more likely. 
 
What are possible alternatives to suspension?  
  
5 
 Fact Sheet                                                                 April 29, 2009 
• In-School Suspension – must be appropriate, include academic 
tutoring, instruction on skill-building related to the student 
behavior problem (e.g., social skills), and a clearly defined 
procedure for returning to class contingent on student progress or 
behavior. 29 
• Keep the students in school, but suspend them from after-school 
activities, sports, clubs, etc.   
• Alternative Learning Centers – Similar or adapted classes in a 
different environment, which still allows students to be within the 
district and progress towards graduation. 
• In-kind restitution – the students can 
help to restore or improve the school 
environment; for example the students 
could repair property that they 
damaged, or they could improve the 
school environment more broadly by 
cleaning.30 
• Have students provide community 
service on school grounds during 
nonschool hours. 31 
• Identify students with poor academic, attendance and behavior 
performance at the beginning of the year. Arrange meetings with 
the students and their parents to discuss, develop and sign a 
contract for success, and agree on terms or goals for the student to 
achieve and duties and responsibilities to be fulfilled by school 
personnel.  Discuss consequences if either party fails to perform.  
Encourage the parent to remain in contact with school 
representatives, and designate an adult staff member as a mentor 
for each student.32   
• Behavior Monitoring/Behavior Plans – Closely monitoring 
behavior and academic progress (e.g., self-charting of behaviors 
and feedback sessions for the student) will permit rewards to be 
provided for successful performance; Create a structured, 
coordinated behavior support plan specific to the student and based 
on a hypothesis about the function of the target behavior to be 
reduced.33 
• Mini-courses or skill modules. Short courses or self-study modules 
on topics related to the student’s inappropriate behavior.34 
• Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports35 - PBIS is “a 
proactive school-wide approach to discipline which focuses on 
teaching and supporting positive behavior in the entire student 
body.”  Use administrator warnings, student meetings, parent-
teacher meetings, incident debriefing conferences, behavior 
contracts, behavior intervention plans, in-school lunch and 
recess for discipline. Hand-out notices to students caught 
obeying the rules and behaving appropriately for good-
  
6 
 Fact Sheet                                                                 April 29, 2009 
behaviors, put a copy of the notice in a raffle for a weekly prize. 
• Youth Court 36 
o Let students decide the fate of their peers – attorneys, 
judges, juries. 
o Punishments are usually more severe. 
o Students tend to respect the decisions of other students 
more than adults, administrators, or hearing officers. 
o Can be implemented at the building level. 
 Best for high schools, where the youth court could 
be a productive activity for many students. 
• Suspension Reduction with student participation in alternative 
activities.  
o In many instances, suspensions are the only option.  In 
many of these cases, it may be more productive and 
beneficial to the student, the school district and the 
community as a whole to offer the student the opportunity 
to reduce their period of suspension by completing 
alternative activities. 
o “The board of education may also condition a student's 
early return to school and suspension revocation on the 
pupil's voluntary participation in counseling or specialized 
classes, including anger management or dispute resolution, 
where applicable.”37  
 
What types of alternative activities could a district offer to 
students in order to reduce their suspensions? 
• Community Service 
o SCPA 
o Boys and Girls Club 
o YMCA 
o Church/ Synagogue 
o Nursing Homes 
o Daycare Centers 
o Soup Kitchens 
• Tutoring  
• Counseling 
• Conflict Mediation 
• Restitution 
• Undergo a threat assessment 
• Undergo drug testing and produce negative results 
• Behavior Contract 
o Agree to abide by Code of Conduct, set consequences in 
case of future violations 
 
How could a district implement a suspension reduction 
program? 
  
7 
 Fact Sheet                                                                 April 29, 2009 
• Appoint a staff member, perhaps an assistant principal at each 
building or a district-wide assistant superintendent, to be in charge 
of the suspension reduction program. 
• When out of school suspensions are proscribed during a 
superintendent’s hearing, have the district representative discuss 
with the student’s parents (and the student, where appropriate) 
conditions that the student can fulfill which will reduce the period 
of suspension. 
• The alternative activities should fit the misconduct.  For example, 
drug testing and drug counseling for a student who was found in 
possession of drugs, or conflict mediation and threat assessment 
for students who get into a fight.   
• Require that the students provide proof of their alternative 
activities to the individual designated by the district.  
• Once that individual has received proof of the student’s 
participation in the required programs, he or she can notify the 
student, the students parent and the necessary administration that 
the student has met the requirements and will be returning to 
school early. 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
1
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(3)(a) 
2
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(3)(b)(1) 
3
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(3)(b)(1) 
4
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(3)(c)(1) 
5
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(3)(c)(1) 
6
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(3)(c)(1) 
7
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(3)(c)(1) 
8
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(3)(c)(1) 
9
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(d)(effective June 30, 2009).   
10
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214(d)(effective June 30, 2009).   
11
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214 (e) 
12
 Committee on School Health, Policy Statement: Out of School Suspension and 
Expulsion, PEDIATRICS Vol. 112 No. 5 November 2003, pp. 1206-1209, Statement of 
Reaffirmation published August 1, 2008, available at: 
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics%3B112/5/1206  
13
 Testimony of Donna Lieberman on Behalf of the New York Civil Liberties Union 
before the New York City Council Committees On Education And Civil Rights 
Regarding The Impact Of Suspensions On Students’ Education Rights, “Testimony: The 
  
8 
 Fact Sheet                                                                 April 29, 2009 
                                                                                                                                                
Impact of School Suspensions, and a Demand for Passage of the Student Safety Act.”, 
January 23, 2008.  Available at: http://www.nyclu.org/node/1602 
14
 Committee on School Health 
15
 Committee on School Health 
16
 Committee on School Health  
17
 Lieberman 
18
 Trustin, Mark S., “Model for Alternative to Public School Suspension,” 
Durham, North Carolina, 2008, available at: 
http://develop.wikispaces.com/Model+for+Alternative+to+High+School+Suspensio 
19
 Trustin 
20
 Trustin 
21
 Trustin 
22
 Trustin 
23
 Lieberman 
24
 Lieberman  
25
 Lieberman (citations omitted). 
26
 Conversation with Michael J. Looby, Esq., General Counsel for the Buffalo City 
School District (April 21, 2009). 
27Peterson, Reece L., “Ten Alternatives to Suspension,” Impact, University of Minnesota: 
The College of Education and Human Development, available online at: 
http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/182/over5.html  
28
 Conversation with Michael J. Looby, Esq. 
29
 Peterson  
30
 Peterson 
31
 Committee on School Health  
32
 Trustin 
33
 Peterson  
34
 Peterson  
35
 Advocates for Children and Youth, “School Suspension: Effects and Alternatives,” 
Voices for Maryland’s Children, Volume 3, Number 6, (April 2006). 
36
 Conversation with Michael J. Looby, Esq. 
37
 N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 3214 (3)(e). 
 
 
____________________________________________________________ 
 
Partnership for the Public Good    
www.ppgbuffalo.org    
237 Main St., Suite 1200, Buffalo NY 14203 
____________________________________________________________ 
 
 


Public School Discipline: Alternatives to Suspension

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