x
Breaking News
More () »

New JCPS data shows drop in suspensions

In a report, numbers show suspensions dropped 13% for the 2018-2019 school year from the 2017-2018 school year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — (WHAS11)-It was the first year for a JCPS initiative to cut the number of students getting suspended. Did it work? New year-end data shows it did.

In a report, numbers show suspensions dropped 13% for the 2018-2019 school year from the 2017-2018 school year. For all schools district-wide, there were 3,076 suspensions less this past year. 

That decline is largely due to a steep reduction of over two-thousand suspensions in JCPS's elementary schools. During the '17-'18 school year there were 4,396 suspensions in the district's elementary schools. For the recent school year, there were 2,009 suspensions. 

The overall number of suspensions at JCPS middle and high schools is greater than elementary schools, but those ages also saw a reduction in suspensions this past year. 

The report also states there was a 15% reduction in the number of suspensions for African-American student and 10% decrease in the number for white students.  

Although suspensions took a dive, teachers' perceptions of student behavior didn't necessarily change. 

The report documents the number of referrals this past school year only decreased by half a percent. This means teachers still reported student misbehavior to school administrators for punishment about the same amount as the year prior. 

The data suggests JCPS schools may be handling students' behavior differently than they have in the past. 

In February, WHAS11 reported Roosevelt Perry Elementary school has made the move to do just that.

RELATED: School suspensions down for JCPS

"Are we where we want to be? No way, not even close to where we want to be. Are we happy about our progress? Yes," Principal Nichole Marshall told WHAS11 in February. 

Despite being a small school of about 250 kids, Marshall said Perry used to have the highest JCPS suspension rate. 

She said in an effort to reduce them, the school hired behavior interventionists and a behavior coach to help when students are having bad days. 

"Being able to have that conversation and being able to dig deep to what was the antecedent, what was the cause of that, that is the piece that we have really worked on," she said. 

The suspension data, along with other end-of-year findings, will be presented to the board of education at a meeting on June 25. 

Before You Leave, Check This Out