DPS Accountability Meeting Report Card.pdf

7/30/2019 DPS Accountability Meeting Report Card.pdf

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REPORT CARDand expectations for 2013

This report examines DPS’ accomplishments over the last school year (2011-2012) with respect to implementation of the 2008 disciplinepolicy and, most importantly, articulates what remains to be done in order to make DPS the district its students deserve. The informationthis report comes from publicly available data and the stories and voices of youth from across the city. It was initiated, informed, and editby youth who care deeply about the future of their education and who feel that district employees must take more responsibility to fullyimplement the 2008 discipline policy and new state law.

Based on the evidence gathered, we have provided DPS with its own annual “report card” on the implementation effort:

GRA

Out-of-School Suspensions (OSS) Since last year, district-wide out-of-school suspension rates have decreased by 13%.

Expectations for 2013

Decrease overall number of out-of-school suspensions by 70% by eliminating out-of-school suspensionsfor disruption [i.e. “detrimental behavior” and “disobedience/defiance or repeated interference”].

Align DPS discipline code with the 2012 Smart School Discipline Law by implementing alternatives to out-of-school suspensions at every tier of the discipline code.

Create a transparent system for receiving and responding to complaints of alleged violations of thediscipline policy.

B+

ExpulsionsWe applaud the district’s progress in reducing the number of expulsions by 40%. This is an example of the districtproviding terrific leadership in advancing institutional change in discipline.


DPS must commit to fully utilizing due process in every referral to expulsion. Align DPS discipline code with the Smart School Discipline Law to allow expulsions only when mandatory.

DPS will not allow expulsions for offenses in the 1-3 categories of the Discipline Matrix. Create a transparent system of receiving and responding to complaints of alleged violations of the

discipline policy.

B+

Referrals to Law EnforcementSince last year, district-wide referrals to law enforcement are down 24%. Unfortunately, this only brings thesenumbers back to the same rates they were prior to the passage of the 2008 discipline policy. DPS must focus onreducing referrals to law enforcement for its grade to improve.


DPS will abide by the Discipline Matrix and limit its referrals to police to serious threats to school safety. Police tickets and arrests of students within DPS schools for the following will be eliminated: detrimental

behavior, disorderly conduct, disobedience, defiance, repeated interference, other violations of code of conduct, and habitual disruption.

D

Racial Disparities Racial disparities continue to be the most significant failure of the district. Black students represent only 15% of the student population, yet are 32% of all out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and arrests. Latino students makeup half of all suspensions, expulsions, and arrests. It is time for DPS to take action and hold schools and principalsaccountable for their failure to reduce racial disparities within the district.


Eliminate all racial disparities.

F



Track the extent to which disciplinary consequences for students of color are different than their white peers for the same conduct and make this data publically available.

Identify schools with highest racial disparities and place them on an improvement plan.

Restorative Justice DPS has made progress implementing restorative justice programs that work in 50% of all schools and trained 179staff in 60 schools. However, DPS pays for 16 full time SROs at a cost of $1.3 million dollars and only has 4.5 full-time employees with restorative justice responsibilities for the entire district.


Make restorative justice mandatory and expand to all schools. Hire a full time restorative justice coordinator for each school and launch a Restorative Justice

Department within the district. Collect and provide data on the effectiveness of restorative approaches, including experiences of

students who went through restorative justice. Educate all parents, students, and staff on restorative justice and how to access it.

C

TrainingTraining opportunities increased in 2011-12. DPS provided numerous discipline trainings to staff. Nevertheless,DPS must do more by mandating training to all staff to End the School-to-Jail Track.


Require mandatory training on the district discipline policy, ladder and matrix, and restorative justice approaches.

Require mandatory training on cultural competency, implicit bias, and racial discrimination. Provide training on classroom management and alternatives to harsh discipline to the teachers

who consistently have the highest use of suspensions, expulsions and referrals to the police. Track and publicize the outcome of these trainings on a quarterly basis.

C

Data CollectionData collection has become more consistent in 2011-12. Suspension data is now tracked and principals are trackingdata on a daily basis. Discipline reports are compiled on a monthly basis. While DPS is to be applauded for theseefforts, much more can be done.

Expectations for 2013 Disaggregate discipline data by race and school. Make this data publicly available and

accessible on a quarterly basis. Track data on students who receive tickets and arrests at school, by their race and the outcomes

of their cases. Align the discipline code to the Smart School Discipline Law requirements on data collection.

C

Cumulative Grade

DPS has made some truly impressive progress over the last year. The district is to be commended for reducing out-of-school suspension rates by 29%, expulsions by 40% and referrals to law enforcement by 24%.

This progress represents a shining example of what is possible through focused efforts to dismantle the School-to-Jail

Track.

Nevertheless, it continues to be the case that students of color are at the receiving end of harsh discipline far moreoften than their White peers. It is simply unacceptable that Black students are 5.5 times more likely to be suspendedthan White students, and Latino students are 2.4 times more likely to be suspended than White students.

There need to be concentrated efforts over the next year to address the system wide factors that are driving theseracial disparities, and we need immediate intervention in the individual schools where students of color continue to bepunished excessively.

C



Building the Political WillParent & Youth Leadership Development

Padres & Jóvenes Unidos works to educate thousands of parents and youth in Denver to drive education refor

For youth, our high school chapters are the movement building force behind our policy victories. With the help

Padres & Jóvenes organizers, Jóvenes students lead weekly on-campus meetings where they organize: cla

presentations, petition drives, school wide assemblies, rallies and press events to End the School-to-Jail Trac

demand Immigrant Rights, and build Black & Brown Unity.

Our parent committees are the force behind our College Prep for All and Health Justice Campaigns, dedicated

ending racial disparities in public education. Parent members lead the charge for middle school refo

extended learning time, curriculums that prepare all students for college, and closing the achievement gap. Par

leaders organize presentations, media work, petitioning, and community meetings to advance educational and hea

equity for all.

Learning how to integrate theory with practice, parents and youth leaders participate in summer institutes with inte

sive training on what our goals are within the movement and how to achieve them.

Padres would like to acknowledge and thank the following

funders and friends for making this work possible:

Alliance for Educational Justice

Communities for Public Education Reform

Denver Foundation

Edward W. Hazen

Funders Collaborative on Youth Organizing

Gill Foundation

Just and Fair Schools Fund/Public Interest Projects

Rose Community Foundation

Our thanks and appreciation to the Advancement

Project, without whose support this report

would not be possible.

ENDNOTES:

1. Documents obtained from Denver Public Schools. [on file with authors]. Id. at FN.

2. Colorado Department of Education, 2011-2012 Safety and Discipline Indicators. Retrieved on December 12, 2012 from

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/rv2012sdiincidents.htm.

3. Padres & Jóvenes Unidos & Advancement Project. (2011, December). Books Not Bars: Students for Safe & Fair Schools,

A Community Analysis of the Implementation of the 2008 Denver School Discipline Policy.

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/rv2012sdiincidents.htm

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/rv2012sdiincidents.htm