School Discipline and the Juvenile Justice System Advocacy - - PDF document

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School Discipline and the Juvenile Justice System

Advocacy Committee Maryland PTA April 8, 2020

• Rights when facing school discipline

Presenter: Monisha Cherayil, Esquire Public Justice Center

• Rights in the juvenile justice system

Presenter: Michal Gross, Esquire Maryland Office of the Public Defender

• Questions & Answers

Overview

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Stopping School Pushout

Protecting the Rights of Children Facing Suspension and Expulsion Public Justice Center www.publicjustice.org

Why Not Suspension?

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Suspension Does Not Work

• Does not address underlying causes of behavior
• Does not teach kids how to improve behavior
• Does not make schools safer

Suspension Harms Kids

• Leads to disengagement from school
• Leads to poor academic performance, grade repetition, dropping out
• Leads to involvement in juvenile justice system
• Leads to negative school climate for all kids

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Disproportionately Affects Children of Color

Statewide, 2018-19 School Year

Student Population

White

African American 34% Other 30% Suspensions and Expulsions White 22% African American 59% Other 19%

Disproportionately Affects Children With Disabilities

Statewide, 2018-19 School Year

Student Population

Students With Disabilities

Students Without Disabilities 88%

Suspensions and Expulsions

Students With Disabilities 25% Students Without Disabilities 75%

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9 45 92 63 25 25 8 18 76 65 27 41 59 38 44 77 16 49 73 35 32 66 37 3 21 79 39 13 15 4 10 56 41 13 0.4 20 24 23 22 57 6 18 46 16 14 37 18

Disproportionately Affects Children of Color

(2018-19 school year) 29 21 28 26 22 18 34 30 18 15 28 19 32 30 22 27 23 23 20 23 21 22 20 20 17 11 16 14 10 10 12 16 12 10 11 10 13 10 14 12 11 11 11 15 11 11 12 12

Disproportionately Affects Children With Disabilities

(2018-19 school year)

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Suspension is Used for Minor, Subjective Behaviors

• Statewide, 36% of suspensions and expulsions were for Disrespect/Disruption during

the 2018-19 school year

Effective Alternatives for Addressing Student Conflict & Behavior Concerns

Restorative Approaches

• Builds positive relationships among students and staff to prevent conflict, and repair harm and impose

accountability when conflict does occur School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS)

• A multi-tiered set of interventions to prevent and remedy antisocial behavior

Trauma-Informed Teaching

• Minimize fight-or-flight responses, including aggression, for students who have suffered trauma

Mindfulness Practices

• Help students manage stress in healthy ways

Special Education Identification & Planning

• Students with disabilities may need accommodations or services in order to avoid challenging

behaviors

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Legal Framework – All Students

Maryland School Discipline Regulations

COMAR 13A.01.08.11, passed in 2014

Short term suspension 1-3 school days Long term suspension 4-10 school days Extended suspension 11-44 school days Expulsion 45+ school days

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Short Term and Long Term Suspension

Who may suspend?

• Principal

On what basis?

• Not stated in regulations but in school district policies and codes of conduct
• Varies widely among school districts
• Cannot suspend out-of-school for attendance-related offenses

Process?

• Principal must hold conference with student or parent
• Student must receive notice of charges, explanation of evidence, and opportunity

to present their side

Short Term and Long Term Suspension

Educational services (short term suspension):

• Students must have opportunity to complete work they missed without penalty
• Students and parents must be given contact information for school employee

responsible for this

• All other aspects of makeup work are identical to school’s policy and practice for other

excused absences Educational services (long term suspension):

• Students must be placed in alternative education program or receive daily classwork

from each teacher, which must be corrected on a weekly basis and returned to students

• Schools must have liaison between teachers and suspended students to communicate

weekly about classwork and school issues

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Extended Suspension and Expulsion

Who may suspend?

• Superintendent or designee

On what basis (extended suspension)?

• Student’s return to school would pose imminent threat of serious harm to other

students and staff; OR

• Student has engaged in chronic and extreme disruption of educational process that has

created substantial barrier to learning for other students across the school day, and

• ther available and appropriate behavioral and disciplinary interventions have been

exhausted On what basis (expulsion)?

• Student’s return to school would pose imminent threat of serious harm to other

students and staff

Extended Suspension and Expulsion

Process?

• Superintendent or designee must investigate matter
• Superintendent or designee must hold conference with student and parent AND

advise them of decision within 10 school days

• If not, student is allowed to return to school
• Student and parent may bring lawyer or non-lawyer advocate to conference

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Extended Suspension and Expulsion

Appeal process?

• Student or parent may appeal decision to school board within 10 days
• School board must hear and decide appeal within 45 days
• Student or parent must be given school system’s witness list and evidence 5 days

before hearing

• Student or parent may bring lawyer or non-lawyer advocate and witnesses to

hearing

Extended Suspension and Expulsion

Educational Services:

• Student must be given comparable educational services and appropriate behavioral

support services to promote successful return to student’s regular academic program

• Students must be placed in alternative education program or receive daily

classwork from each teacher, which must be corrected on a weekly basis and returned to students

• Schools must have liaison between teachers and suspended students to

communicate weekly about classwork and school issues

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Red Flags

Illegal send-homes

• School sends student home for behavioral reasons, but does not treat it as an official

suspension

• Examples:

School calls parent to pick up child and records it as parent walk-in School tells student to go home for the day School places student on a modified schedule (e.g. half-day schedule)

Administrative transfers to alternative school

• District transfers student to alternative school after or instead of a suspension
• Student has the right to return to their regular school after a suspension!

Calls to police

• School calls police about behavior that should be handled by the school, and student is

removed from school

Reportable Offense Removals

What is it?

• School/district removes student from school after receiving notice from police department that

student has been arrested in the community

• Not a suspension or expulsion because it does not result from behavior in school; but it is a conduct-

based removal that can have the same harmful effect

• District may have separate policy governing this

What rights apply?

• School must develop a plan that “addresses appropriate educational programming and related

services for the student and that maintains a safe and secure school environment for all students and school personnel”

• School must request that the parent participate in developing plan, and after development, schedule

a conference to inform parent of the plan

• Plan must be implemented no later than 5 school days after notice of arrest
• School must have process for resolving disputes regarding the plan
• School must review plan at least quarterly and upon disposition of arrest
• Record of arrest is confidential and may not be part of student’s permanent school record

COMAR 13A.08.01.17

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Legal Framework - Special Populations

PreK-2nd Grade Suspension Ban

2017 legislation banning suspension and expulsion for preK-2nd grade students:

• Exception: student may be suspended for up to 5 days if school administration, in

consultation with school psychologist or other mental health professional, determines that there is imminent threat of serious harm to other students or staff that cannot be reduced through interventions and supports

• School must provide intervention and support if student is suspended, is disruptive, or

commits an act that would be subject to suspension but for the student’s grade

• School shall remedy impact of student’s behavior through appropriate intervention

methods that may include restorative practices

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Students With Disabilities

Up to 10 school days consecutively or cumulatively in one school year:

• Students with disabilities may be suspended just like students without disabilities

More than 10 school days:

• IEP team must contact parent, hold manifestation meeting, complete or revise

functional behavior assessment and behavior intervention plan COMAR 13A.08.03.01 et seq.

Manifestation Meeting

• IEP team must review student’s file, teacher observations, information from parent,

IEP and determine:

• (a) If conduct was caused by or had direct and substantial relationship to student’s

disability; OR

• (b) If conduct was direct result of school’s failure to implement IEP
• IF YES, student is allowed to return to school
• Exception: drugs, weapons, serious bodily injury
• IF NO, student may be suspended for more than 10 school days
• Student must continue to receive IEP services and work toward IEP goals

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FBA and BIP

Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA):

• Identifies behavior, functions of behavior, and settings that contribute to behavior
• ver time

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP):

• Describes how adults will respond to behavior, replacement behavior that will be

taught, and how data will be collected Can be used for any student

Advocacy Questions & Resources

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Give Us Your Input!

• What school discipline issues are you seeing in your work or community? Any

particular schools?

• What would be some good ways to fix these issues? Are any schools doing things

right?

• What are some community organizations and partners that you are working with or

identify as allies on these issues?

Maryland Suspension Representation Project

• 443-873-3531
• www.mdsuspensionrep.org
• Partnership of Public Justice Center, Disability Rights Maryland, Office of the Public

Defender, and Youth, Education and Justice Clinic at University of Maryland School of Law

• Renuka Rege, Public Justice Center
• 410-625-9409 x 272
• reger@publicjustice.org

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Youth Legal 101

Maryland Office of the Public Defender

Youth Legal 101

Maryland Office of the Public Defender

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Learning Objectives Learning Objectives

• 1. Basics
• 2. Best Practices

When it Started Who it Impacts Where it operates What it does Raise the Age Shrink the System Positive Youth Development Close to Home

HISTORY OF YOUTH LEGAL SYSTEM

House of Refuge

Opens on Frederick Avenue in Baltimore

1855

JUVENILE COURT

Creates system of magistrates to hear juvenile matters

1902

DJS FOUNDED

• Dept. of Juvenile Services

created to take over youth prisons.

1967

SCANDAL

3 youth prisons closed and senior offices fired

• ver widespread abuse.

1999

CONSENT DECREE

• Md. Enters consent decree

with DOJ over deplorable conditions of youth jails & prisons.

2005

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HISTORY OF YOUTH LEGAL SYSTEM

CHILD KILLED

Staff at Bowling Brook murder Isiah Simmons III. Opens 2 years later as Silver Oak.

2007

DISCRIMINATION

Report shows that across Maryland arrests down but detention up.

2012

SCANDAL

Baltimore Sun reports on significant problems at Victor Cullen, discorporate treatment of young women & more

2016

CLOSURES

Victor Cullen closes after staff failures cause riot, Glenn Mills closed amidst abuse scandal.

2018-9

$272 MILLION

DJS is asking to spend another $272 million on jail & prison construction

2020

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Maryland’s racial & ethnic demographics Maryland’s racial & ethnic demographics

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Black White Hispa nic Other

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[CATE GORY NAME ] White Hispa nic

Referrals to Youth Legal System

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[CATEGORY NAME] White Hispanic Black White Hispanic

Referrals to Youth Legal System in Charles County

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Black White Hispa nic

Youth Out-of- Home Placements

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State run youth prison State run youth jail How much does it cost to incarcerate a girl at Waxters for one year? How much does it cost to incarcerate a girl at Waxters for one year?

▫ $50,000 ▫ $75,000 ▫ $150,000 ▫ $250,000 ▫ $400,000

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Pre- Court Process: Discretion Pre- Court Process: Discretion

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Intake

DJS has a dedicated intake officer Three options:

• Close at intake
• Resolve Informally
• Forward to Court

Police

Charge kids for something that would be a crime if they were an adult on a Juvenile Offense Report (JOR) They can release the kid to their parent, or ask DJS to detain them.

Diversion

The JOR is then referred to any diversionary program. If accepted and succesfully completed, the charges stop there.

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Juvenile Court in a Nutshell Juvenile Court in a Nutshell

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Post-Disposition

If a child is found delinquent, they are either placed on probation or committed & sent to an out of home placement.

Trial

Called “adjudication” at trial rather than guilty/not guilty the court finds the child involved or not involved. Trials usually happen within 60 days of a case being brought.

Sentencing

Called “disposition” a judge or magistrate then decides if a child is delinquent or not delinquent. Sentencing usually happens 3-4 weeks after trial.

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Level I includes all programs where youth reside in a community setting & attend community schools. Level II includes programs where educational programming is provided on-site & youth movement and freedom is restricted primarily by staff monitoring and supervising. Level III programs provide the highest level of security by augmenting staff supervision with physical attributes of the facility, i.e., locks, bars and fences.

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Kids taken out of their homes in Maryland are there for misdemeanors or technical violations of probation

• 10,000

20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Youth Complaints in Maryland

Statewide there has been a 60% decline in youth complaints in the last 10 years.

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$273,513,315 per year $273,513,315 per year

DJS annual operating budget

15% on community supervision 15% on community supervision

No mentorship program in Charles County

47.7% youth jails & prisons 47.7% youth jails & prisons

$150 million give or take

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Bad Decision, Not Bad Kids Bad Decision, Not Bad Kids

Only one-third of adolescents with an arrest record go on to an adult arrest; two-thirds do not.

Reforming Juvenile Justice, Footnote 5 Pg 25

The majority

• f serious felony

adolescent offenders report very low levels of

• ffending three years

after court involvement.

Mulvey et al., 2010

. A young person arrested at age 16 for robbery has the same

likelihood of

arrest at 24.5 years old as a peer with no juvenile record.

Blumstein and Nakamura, 2009

2/3

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Kids do dumb stuff Kids do dumb stuff

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And most grow out

• f it on their own.

This is a brain on puberty. This is a brain on puberty.

• Thrill seeking
• Act without

planning

• Cannot foresee

consequences

• Subject to peer

pressure

• Sensitive to

reward U.S. Supreme Court says kids are different in:

• Miller v. Alabama
• JDB v. N. Carolina
• Roper v. Simmons

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Racism (not just implicit bias) is real Racism (not just implicit bias) is real Over Policing Unfairness at Arrest, Charging, & Sentencing Fines & Fees

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Think about a time between the ages of 7-17 when you did one

• f the

following….

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Congratulations! You have been found involved. You are now on probation.

Think about a time between the ages of 7-17 when you did

• ne of the

following….

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Boy

Congratulations You violated probation.

Girl

Youth Prison Youth Center Between the ages of 7- 17 did you ever..

Yes?

You are kicked

• ut of school &

sent to a Youth Prison

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Dangers of Detaining Young People Dangers of Detaining Young People

• Interrupts and prevents brain maturation
• Increases recidivism
• Exposure to negative peers
• Pulls kids deeper into system
• Increases mental illness
• Interrupts schooling

We Know What Works We Know What Works

• Keep youth in their communities & near family
• Help youth build new skills and stay out of trouble

in the long term.

• Multi-systemic therapy
• Family functional therapy
• Culturally competent service providers
• Wraparound Services
• Education & Vocational opportunity

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Raise the Age Raise the Age

• Raise the floor (stop charging 7 year olds) and the

ceiling (end charging kids as adults).

• Children are different from adults, we must treat

them with the care & support they deserve.

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Shrink the System Shrink the System

• Increase diversion & limit discretion to charge.
• Ban out of home placement for all but the most

serious, violent offenses.

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Positive Youth Development Positive Youth Development

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• Limit probation to finite time periods.
• Provide opportunities to build positive relationships

with adults.

• Help young people pursue their interests, participate

in constructive recreational, and educational activities and contribute in meaningful ways to their communities.

Close to Home Close to Home

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• Close large congregant state-run prisons - they make

us less safe, do not work & are inordinately expensive.

• Establish small-community based options that

provide intensive services only to the most high-risk young people.

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Learn More Learn More

• Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit Reports

http://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/JJM/

• DJS Data Resource Guide

https://djs.maryland.gov/Pages/Data-Resource-Guides.aspx

• Transforming Probation

https://www.aecf.org/resources/transforming-juvenile-probation/

• Reforming Juvenile Justice

https://www.nap.edu/catalog/14685/reforming-juvenile-justice-a-developmental-approach

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Join the Campaign Join the Campaign

https://campaigns.organizefor.org/p/closetohome

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Tell Others Tell Others

#RaisetheAge #ShrinktheSystem #PositiveYouth #KeepKidsClosetoHome

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Contact:

michal.gross@maryland.gov

Contact:

michal.gross@maryland.gov

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QUESTIONS?

Tonya Sweat, Esquire Vice President for Advocacy Maryland PTA 5 Central Avenue Glen Burnie, MD 21061 Office: (410) 760-6221 or (800) 707-7972 Fax: (410) 760-6344 vpadvocacy@mdpta.org www.mdpta.org