PPS suspensions returned to pre-pandemic levels, as Black students with IEPs see big jump in discipline

Pittsburgh Public Schools has struggled for years to address the disproportionate discipline of Black students, but one key metric shows that disparities persist.

A PublicSource analysis of suspension data from school years 2018-19 to 2023-24 found that while overall suspension rates among the district’s Black students decreased, Black students in special education were suspended at a much higher rate in 2023-24 compared to 2018.

After dropping between the 2019 and 2021 school years, suspensions (both out-of-school and in-school ones) returned to pre-pandemic levels as schools struggled to accommodate a rise in COVID-19-driven behavior issues.

Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) issued at least 18,142 suspensions from school year from 2018-19 to 2023-24, the period for which the district provided data in response to PublicSource records requests.

Suspensions of Black students — who make up just over half of the PPS student population — were 10 times those of white students.

Suspensions fell as a result of the pandemic, but the form of discipline shot back up starting in 2022. The district’s Assistant Superintendent for Support Services Dawn Golden said the spike in suspensions was a post-pandemic effect when behavior issues surged among students after nearly two years in remote learning.

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 87% of public schools across the country reported that the pandemic negatively impacted socio-emotional development and increased classroom disruptions during the 2021–22 school year.

In 2023-24, the district managed to reduce suspension numbers. According to the PPS data dashboard, the sum of all suspensions came up to 11,072 days in 2022-23. It decreased to 9,712 days in 2023-24.

Racial disparities persist

In 2023-24, PPS schools issued 2.7 times as many suspensions of Black male students with individualized education programs [IEPs] as they did in 2018-19. Black female students with an IEP were twice as likely to be suspended in 2022-23 as in 2018-19. During that period, the portion of students with IEPs edged up slightly, from 19% to 22%.

“If they see such a sharp increase, that is a warning sign that there’s something going on, something wrong with what the adults are doing, and they need to figure it out,” said former school board member Pam Harbin, adding that restorative practices for students with IEPs need to be individualized for them to be effective. IEPs are education plans developed for special education students that outline their goals and services.

In a statement, district spokesperson Ebony Pugh said the pandemic had an adverse impact on student mental health, leading to higher suspensions and added that the district is committed to addressing this disparity.

She said that while the increase “may not constitute a surge, it’s important to acknowledge that these disproportionalities have existed for far too long,” said Pugh.

Huge disparities between Black students and other racial groups remain. In the 2023-24 school year, PPS served about 18,380 students, including 51% Black students and 31% white students. However, that year, at least 86% of suspensions were issued to Black students.

Rhonda Brown, principal of the district’s Clayton Academy, said PPS schools need to look at each individual case to determine a student’s needs and address a particular behavior issue.

Harbin said teacher biases and a lack of cultural understanding also contribute to the existing inequities among these student populations.

According to a report by A+ Schools, 86% of the district’s teaching staff is white. Four PPS schools do not have any teachers of color and 24 schools have teaching staffs that are more than 90% white.

“A Black girl might seem sassy and talking back when it’s just part of how they speak,” Harbin said. “So there’s definitely a bias.”

All district employees are required to participate in a two-day training that emphasizes the understanding of diversity, biases and how they might impact teaching, said Golden.

However, some teachers in the district think professional development can only go so far if a teacher is unable to connect with students. Sean Means, a teacher at Westinghouse Academy, said professional development training often fails to train teachers in building relationships with students.

He added the district should invest more money in schools with students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and a higher percentage of students of color to give them resources equal to some of the district’s magnet schools.

Christine Porter, senior attorney at the Education Law Center, said having more counselors, social workers and behavior support staff in buildings can help both teachers and students along with trauma-informed training to recognize the mental health needs of students.

Suspensions increase for non-violent offenses

Most students were suspended for what the district calls level two violent offenses such as fighting or showing physical aggression and altercations with other students or staff members. Level two violent offenses can lead to an out-of-school suspension.

Suspensions for non-violent offenses such as unauthorized presence on school grounds or verbal altercations with staff are strongly discouraged, according to the district’s Code of Student Conduct. However, at least 4,468 suspensions were given out for non-violent offenses between 2018 and 2024.

In 2021, the school board voted to remove disorderly conduct and repeated level 1 infractions from the Code of Student Conduct, citing their disproportionate impact on students of color and an effort to decrease suspensions. Instead of a decrease in suspensions, the move resulted in more students being suspended for other non-violent offenses.

Harbin, who introduced the policy to eliminate those infraction codes, said suspending students for repeating certain behaviors does not address the root issue or the students’ unmet needs.

Brown said PPS has reinforced its emphasis on restorative practices and restorative circles to increase communication among students and teachers. These restorative practices are used to resolve conflict by focusing on socio-emotional support and building a positive school culture.

In the last couple of years, the district has initiated reintegration meetings in each school in an effort to communicate with parents. Staff members meet parents and students and discuss any incidents and potential barriers, and provide support in place of suspensions.

“We recognize the importance of, when students are in these situations, for them to feel comfortable with coming back into that environment in which somebody was harmed,” said Brown.

However, Harbin said restorative practices may not solve the chronic issuing of suspensions unless there is an intentional focus on allocating resources such as support staff.

“There hasn’t been a targeted investment in putting the supports in place that are needed in every school to make sure that students are supported,” she said.

Golden said each school collects data on the number of suspensions and reintegration meetings followed by a monthly review with the superintendent to evaluate the effectiveness of those practices and provide support in schools that are failing to meet set benchmarks.

Some schools see success in lowering suspensions

The district does not suspend students between kindergarten and second grade. Compared to 2018, some 6-12 schools and high schools saw increases in out-of-school suspensions in 2023.

After the post-pandemic spike in suspensions at Carrick, the school reduced its suspension numbers by reinforcing its partnership with the South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace [SPCP].

Principal Angel Washington said suspensions increased after COVID because many middle school students, who were out of school for nearly two years, were suddenly forced into a high school environment. The school saw a significant decline in suspension numbers by providing interventions before disruptions or violence.

SPCP staff members meet parents to start conversations about their needs and provide necessary support.

“When it comes to conflicts with parents or families that have a long-standing conflict, or they’re angry and they want to have a conversation with one another, we think maybe it’s not appropriate for them to come to the school to have that conversation because it may end in conflict,” said Washington.

At Westinghouse, Means said, teachers and support staff including counselors, social workers or equity advocates, are working to build lasting relationships with students and gain their trust. Staff members also involve parents to resolve conflicts and misunderstandings. The school has succeeded in reducing suspensions in 2023-24 to less than half of 2018-19 numbers.

King K-8 on the North Side also saw a notable decrease in suspension numbers in the last five years. The school’s Principal Dawn Gordon attributed much of that success to her prior experience as a social worker in PPS.

King’s staff has undergone professional training to become proactive about restorative practices.

“Suspensions are only to give the adults a break because if we have not dealt with the underlying issue of why the behavior occurred, to prevent it from happening again, that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” said Gordon.

Lajja Mistry is the K-12 education reporter at PublicSource. She can be reached at lajja@publicsource.org  This story was fact-checked by Elizabeth Szeto.

This article first appeared on PublicSource and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.