Baltimore schools will no longer suspend students for playing hooky and focus more on preventing violence under an overhauled discipline code — reforms trumpeted by education advocates as more effective in reducing dropouts.

“It stresses keeping kids in school rather than a knee-jerk reaction to kick kids out,” said Bebe Verdery, Maryland American Civil Liberties Union’s education director.

“They don’t learn anything from that. This is a real step forward.”

Instead of being removed from school, students who cut class will now face in-school suspension, detention, mentoring and parent notifications, among other consequences.

This story continues below
Advertisement

The new code of conduct includes more options for violent kids, including mental health counseling, conflict resolution and anger management.

Until now, city schools were quick to remove students by suspending them, but doing so has done little to change students’ behavior, said Alexi Nunn, staff attorney with the Advancement Project, a racial justice group.

Nunn examined the prevention-focused disciplinary codes in Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties when she helped a school task force reform Baltimore’s code.

More school districts nationwide are switching to a more preventative — rather than punitive — approach when dealing with students’ misbehavior.

One of the most common punishments city principals dole out are short-term, out-of-school suspensions of up to five days.

Almost 64 percent of suspensions in Baltimore during 2006-2007 were for disrespect, insubordination, disruption, attendance, cell phones and refusal to obey school policies. That same year, there were 14,233 short-term suspensions and 657 in-school suspensions.

But suspended students are sent home with work packets — a response that impedes learning, said city schools chief Andres Alonso.

When kids are out of school, they are more likely to commit crimes, research shows.

“This will keep them out of the juvenile justice system,” said Monique Dixon, criminal justice director for the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, which works to solve urban problems.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com