Washington State: SPED students suspended/expelled at 2X rate of regular ed

Aug 20, 2018, KUOW, Seattle, WA: Tardy to school? You can no longer be suspended for that in WA http://www.kuow.org/post/tardy-school-you-can-no-longer-be-suspended-wa The school year starts in a few weeks in Washington. This year, no public school student can be expelled just because they are tardy or have unexcused absences on their record. Washington’s superintendent of public instruction is making that change, and others, to the state's disciplinary rules. Superintendent spokesperson Nathan Olson said the goal is to keep kids in the classroom, not sitting at home. The state hopes the changes will help close the opportunity gap that students of color face. "What we've found is, number one, there is disproportional in discipline; and number two, too often those students who are disciplined don't get seamless educational services during the time that they are disciplined," Reykdal said. According to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 3.5 percent of all students were suspended or expelled in 2016-17. For black/African-American students, it was 7.4 percent. The rate for students who receive special education was 7.1 percent.