On September 23rd, Seattle Public schools issues a moratorium on out-of-school suspensions for elementary school students with further plans to reduce out-of-school suspensions for all grades. The many reasons for the moratorium include a “starve the [school-to]-prison pipeline at its source,” according to one school board member, “closing the achievement gap”, as mentioned by another and “creating a sense of belonging in a positive school climate.”

“(The moratorium) will make it harder for teachers to run orderly classrooms that benefit the well-behaved kids and for principals to run orderly schools of the kind that parents crave so that their children can have learning environments that are both safe and learning-centered. It basically signals to teachers and administrators that misbehaving, disruptive kids must be ‘kept in class’ (or at least in school, which is often the same thing as in class) until they slug someone. The overall long-term effect will be less learning.”-Chester E. Finn, United States Assistant Secretary of Education

The Seattle Times has reported in several of its Education Lab stories this past school year, skewed suspension rates echo persistent gaps in academic performance between blacks and other student groups. Further, out-of-school suspension has negative effects on both suspended and non-suspended students.