PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - School suspensions are down in Rhode Island and a report is giving credit to a new state law that prohibits schools from giving out-of-school suspensions to truant students.
According to the recent report from the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, there were 15,971 out-of-school suspensions in the 2012-2013 school year, down from nearly 22,000 the year before. Overall, nearly 1,700 fewer students received a suspension.
Lawmakers in 2012 passed legislation that required schools to find new ways of disciplining truant students. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Grace Diaz of Providence, says it didn’t make sense to punish students for missing school by keeping them out of the classroom even longer.
She says out-of-school suspensions for truancy only make it harder for students to catch up.
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