News & Commentary

As schools across California close in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we urge them to take all measures possible to minimize the impact on their communities and, in particular, proactively support their most vulnerable and under-resourced students. When schools close, parents and guardians need to make unexpected arrangements for childcare, students will lose instructional time and school meals, and families will lose access to other essential services their schools traditionally provide. It is essential that school administrators of all types – traditional, charter, private, and alternative – find ways to maintain these services while addressing the public health concerns posed by the outbreak.

Imagine this scenario: A student speaks out of turn in class and is immediately referred to the principal’s office then suspended from school for three days. This is the harsh reality of a catch-all school disciplinary code commonly known as “willful defiance” that causes California students to lose an estimated 250,000 days of instruction each year.All students have the right to a quality education regardless of who they are and what they look like. However, the overuse of the willful defiance punishment for minor misbehavior puts too many students on the path to failure, mostly students of color and students with disabilities. We know that suspending students for nonviolent incidents forces them to miss critical classroom time, causing many to fall behind and prompting some to drop out altogether.