Throughout the 2022-23 school year, nearly 1,100 San Diego County students were suspended as the consequence of defiance. In response to the suspension rates in the state, Calif. Sen. Nancy Skinner proposed Senate Bill 274, which took effect in July to ban “willful defiance” suspension in California for grades six through 12. Even as its objective aims to solve inequality in suspension and expulsion, SB 274 — at this moment in time — is unattainable because of prior holes in the education system.
Referred to as the “Keep Kids in School” law, the ban on suspending students for “willful defiance” — such as talking back to a teacher, wearing a hat backwards or falling asleep in class — is built on the principle that youth belong in school. A 2019 legislation, SB 419, prohibited suspension for willful defiance in transitional kindergarten through eighth grade. Now, with the passage of SB 274, the goal is to reduce the disproportionate percentage of suspensions in marginalized communities where 13.5% of foster and 8.8% of Black students were suspended in 2023.
Proponents point to evidence of dropout rates as consequences of suspension as early as freshman year of high school. A 2014 study conducted by Johns Hopkins University faculty, “Sent Home and Put Off-Track,” shows that a single suspension in the ninth grade may increase the likelihood of the student to drop out of high school by two times. Rather than suspending or expelling students, the alternative has become in-school interventions. While in-school interventions, like a trip to the counselor’s office or lunch detention, are still a form of punishment, the outcome keeps students in school and cuts down the amount of time outside of the classroom that suspensions cause, reducing the potential for future dropout.
Furthermore, the National Center for Youth Law proposes that preventing a student from learning in the classroom increases the chance of dropping out or becoming involved in the juvenile justice system. As a result of schools dismissing students, they are often thrusted into prison systems, creating the school-to-prison pipeline. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Education and Correctional Populations, 68% of inmates in state prisons did not receive a high school diploma. Regardless of suspension’s influence on dropout rates, more than half of the state prison population is comprised of high school dropouts.
Nevertheless, SB 274 is not a fix-all for problems in California schools.
Focusing on the equity and well-being of students is a major step toward improving the education system; however, the end goal of this legislation is not feasible because of a significant lack of resources. School funding has dropped from $133 billion to $127 billion between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. This decrease in funding makes suspension the easier option, as schools cannot invest in counseling and intervention programs. Without new funds or funds specifically allocated to this cause, the creation of these programs and the stop of suspension is not an easy transition.
Moreover, the lack of faculty to redirect suspension or expulsion prevents the law from being applied in classrooms. A nationwide survey found that only 20% of teachers are “very satisfied” with their jobs and one third stating they are “likely to quit” in the coming two years. Other variables in the classroom — such as the rise of artificial intelligence, changing technology and adapting to new curriculums — also discourages the career. And yet, the implementation of SB 274 will require schools to place stress on counselors where the student to counselor ratio — at TPHS, for example — is 326-1 while student to vice-principal ratio is 871-1. Especially since the outcome of this law depends on implementation by authorities, absence of passionate staff to instruct, let alone manage willful defiance, poses the threat of a negative classroom climate with the absence of consequences.
SB 274, while addressing specific concerns within California’s education system, is not the current solution due to large gaps that hinder its execution. The inadequate support for teachers and faculty, whether it be in terms of funding or morale, prevents successful implementation.
