Suspending or expelling a student is one of the most severe punishments a school can impose on a student – and it can have lifelong, devastating consequences. In an updated policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a trauma-informed approach to supporting students and reducing the need for exclusionary discipline. The policy statement, "School Suspension and Expulsion," published online Oct.
1 during the AAP 2024 National Conference & Exhibition, marks the first update to AAP guidance since March 2013. The policy statement, written by the Council on School Health, will be published in the October 2024 Pediatrics. Policy statements created by AAP are written by medical experts, reflect the latest evidence in the field, and go through several rounds of peer review before being approved by the AAP Board of Directors and published in Pediatrics.
According to the policy, exclusionary practices were first used for more severe behavior like bringing weapons to school. These practices ramped up following zero-tolerance policies put in place in the wake of the federal "War on Drugs" campaign and other federal policing policies. Data examined while formulating the policy statement showed that from 1973 to 2006, the percentage of students disciplined with suspension or expulsion increased from 3.
7% to 6.9% of total student enrollment. "There is little evidence that zero-tolerance school exclusion policies make schools safer or deter misbehavior, but they do creat.
