News Article - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

For Immediate Release
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Contact:	Heidi B. Perlman 781-338-3106 or Jonathan Palumbo 781-338-3105

Student exclusion rate up 6 percent

MALDEN - More than 1,400 students were either expelled or suspended for 10 days or more during the 1999-2000 school year, a 6 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Department of Education’s new student exclusion report released Thursday. Researchers found that of the 1,412 students excluded, 81 percent were male, meaning one out of every 500 male students was excluded, compared to one in every 2,000 female students. In all, 73 percent of the students excluded were in regular education classes, and 56 percent were between the ages of 14 and 16. The highest number of students excluded — 366 — were in ninth grade, followed by 244 in 10th grade, and 200 in eighth grade. Seventy percent of all students excluded from school were provided with alternative education, an increase of 5 percent from the previous year. More than half of the state’s 371 school districts reported no student exclusions at all for the 1999-00 school year. Four percent, or 16 districts, reported 10 or more exclusions, a decrease from the prior year when 23 districted reported 10 or more. Springfield, with 358 exclusions, had the highest number in the state, followed by Boston with 180, Worcester with 137 and Lawrence with 118. In all, 39 percent of the excluded students were white, 33 percent were Hispanic, 24 percent were African-American and 4 percent were Asian. More than one-fifth of the exclusions were for possession of an illegal substance, a slight increase from the 1998-99 school year. Eleven percent were for assaults on school staff, and 7 percent were for assaults on students — both decreases from the previous year. Of the exclusions, 145 were permanent expulsions, down from 180 the previous year. Also, 189 were for 11-20 day suspensions, 532 were for 21-40-day suspensions, 387 were for 41-179 day suspensions, and 159 were for a full school year. For more information, check the Department of Education's Web site at www.doe.mass.edu.

Last Updated: December 20, 2001