NASW-Michigan Submits Senate Letter to Support Restorative Practices in Schools

Date: September 20, 2016

To: Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee

From: National Association of Social Workers – Michigan Chapter

NASW is a membership organization comprised of almost 6,000 social workers across the state of Michigan and over 120,000 nationwide. We are pleased to support HB 5618-5621 and 5693-5695. This effort to reduce suspensions and expulsions and promote meaningful alternatives for students to take responsibility for their actions, heal damaged relationships, and keep all children safe and engaged in learning are in direct alignment with our core mission and values. We urge the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass these bills to the full Senate for consideration this fall.

The State of Michigan’s school disciplinary code currently only details (and often mandates) exclusionary ways to handle school discipline. School districts too often feel they “must” suspend or expel, often with a disproportionate impact. In fact, Michigan is ranked third worst in the country for suspension rates for black students (Schott Foundation). These bills pave a new path and offer districts guidance and options, such as restorative practices.

There is no evidence that suspensions positively impact student behavior or school climate and in fact, researchers have found that higher rates of out-of-school suspensions actually predict higher future rates of misbehavior and damage perceptions among students of school safety (Skiba, 2000). Exclusion from school actually increases the risk of negative behaviors, such as crime and misuse of alcohol and other drugs. In fact, it can exacerbate truancy and school failure often leading to involvement with the criminal justice system. This all comes at quite a cost. Every youth in residential placement can cost the state as much as $90,000 per year.

Expulsion and long-term suspension unnecessarily closes doors for students, who need additional support to complete school and become contributing members of society. If not, the costs will continue to add up. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 88% percent of all high school dropouts who do not at least receive their GED will be incarcerated by the time they are 25. On average, each prisoner costs the state in excess of $35,000 per year. We can’t afford to not pass these bills.

NASW-Michigan also supports the critically important language in HB5693 that states “there is a rebuttable presumption that expulsion is not justified if the pupil has no history of suspension or expulsion or establishes in a clear and convincing manner [one of the exceptions in the law].” As research suggests, expulsion is the most detrimintal course of action.Therefore, it should only be used in the most extreme circumstances and must be justified by the school. Current practice places the onus on the family, often with little to no resources, to prove why expulsion should not be used.

It is the position of NASW that disciplinary practices in elementary and secondary schools, including detention, suspension, and expulsion, must reflect the desire to shape students’ behavior toward productive participation in schools and society. Many such policies are clearly punitive in intent and thus do not reflect the school’s concern for retaining and successfully graduating students involved in their disciplinary system. The focus of school discipline should be to help students accept responsibility for their own behavior, rather than punishment. Therefore, we fully support the direction and passage of HB 5618 - 5621 and 5693-5695.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Maxine Thome, PhD, LMSW, MPH

Executive Director, NASW-Michigan