Chesterfield, VA: "Alarming suspension rates"; 25% are SPED kids

July 12, 2018, ABC8, Richmond, VA: Alarming suspension rates at Chesterfield elementary schools

8News is uncovering alarming suspension rates at Chesterfield Public Schools. We found nearly 800 Chesterfield elementary school students were suspended from school during the 2016 -2017 school year. Some of those children were as young as 4-years-old. More than 200 of the students have disabilities…. Some of these kids were out of class for up to ten days…. And the number of out-of-school suspensions could be even higher. If a school suspends 11 or fewer children, the number is redacted for fear the students suspended could be identified…. Chesterfield Schools will have to make some changes, a new law now limits suspensions to three days for students pre-k to third grade