By Isaiah Wright, M.S. 2021
A new report by Old Dominion University's Virginia Early Childhood Policy Center (VECPC) provides recommendations for policy actions for Virginia that serve to support young children and families in public school settings.
The report, authored by VECPC co-directors Angela Eckhoff, Rebeca Tilhou, Rebecca John, and Nicole Austin states it is of central importance that state education disciplinary policies consider the various developmental needs of students spanning the PreK-Grade 12 spectrum alongside the identified needs of students from special populations.
"While it is notable that Virginia is one of the nine states that does offer some distinction for policy differentiation as a basis of student age or grade level in expulsion cases, it does not provide a level of differentiation specific to all conduct and disciplinary practices for young children," the report said.
According to the report, at the national level, the rise in increased enrollments for young children has occurred alongside an increasing number of student expulsions from both public and private early childhood classrooms.
"In this writing we are particularly interested in exploring how state-level policy addresses early childhood contexts within the public-school system in order to identify the ways in which existing policies support, hinder, or pose challenges to the enactment of positive guidance practices," the report stated.
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights 2013- 2014 Civil Rights Data Collection report, published in 2016, exposed inequalities in public education disciplinary tactics at the preschool level.
According to the report, Black children represent 19% of public PreK enrollment, but represent 47% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspension. As a point of comparison, the report also shows that white children represent 41% of PreK enrollment but represent 28% of preschool children receiving more than one out of school suspension. Boys represent 78% of preschool children acquiring one or more out-of-school suspension even though boys only represent 54% of PreK enrollment.
The report also shows that children with disabilities served by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) make up 20% of preschool enrollments but are only 15% of the preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. Young English language learners (ELL) make up 12% of preschool enrollments and represent 7% of the preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions.
"These numbers are a cause for concern as young children are developing social and emotional skills, dispositions towards schooling, and understandings of themselves as learners during the early childhood years," the report said.
Data from the report sparked an interest to further examine how efficiently state policy guidelines provide appropriate discipline. There are some implications for Virginia policy and resulting practices that could improve the overall status. Providing professional development and training where specific areas of training will entail the developmental needs of younger children, beneficial early childhood guidance techniques, and the effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Increasing funding and support for on-site school counselors is necessary to provide children in Virginia with the proper resources that serve their needs. Eliminating punitive policies for young children is important as well because younger children are still developing which would make it wrong to hold them to the same behavioral standards as older children. Clarifying and differentiating discipline policies is also recommended because some minor student misbehaviors are labeled as disobedient or disrespectful. Revision would help make sure all students are treated fairly. Lastly, collecting and reporting disciplinary data is vital to improve services and policies.