A Republican state lawmaker is backing a bill to reduce the number of young students suspended from school. State Senator Peggy Lehner, who chairs the Senate education committee, says suspensions can negatively impact learning and Ohio needs a better way to handle such students. Ohio Public Radio's Andy Chow reports.
Lehner says there’s a clear link between suspensions and drop in academic achievement among students who are minorities, disabled or from low-income families.
Lehner: “When suspended a child is robbed of days and often weeks of learning every year.”
There were 36,000 suspensions among preschoolers through third graders last school year. Of those suspended, 90% were economically disadvantaged.
Lehner’s proposal still allows a school to expel a student based on violent behavior.