(Australia) Disabled students most affected by increase in school suspensions

April 11, 2018, (Australia) Adelaide’s Independent News: Why suspending or expelling students often does more harm than good https://indaily.com.au/opinion/2018/04/11/suspending-expelling-students-often-harm-good/ The number of students being suspended or expelled from Australian schools is “skyrocketing”, according to news reports. These note a 10% increase in suspensions over two years at NSW primary schools and that students in south-western Sydney are being suspended more than four times as often as students in other parts of the city. Suspension and expulsion are widely used in Australia, the UK and the US to respond to problematic behaviour…. Students most affected tend to be those with higher and more complex needs, such as those with disabilities and mental health issues…. Suspensions and exclusions also raise serious ethical questions about how our school system accommodates disadvantaged students. Vulnerable (“at risk”) students, such as those with disabilities or mental health difficulties, are disproportionately represented in school exclusions and school suspensions. A recent SA report, for example, explicitly recommended schools avoid using exclusion or suspension as a default behaviour management strategy for students with disabilities and challenging behaviours. …