The Short-Term Suspensions Work Group identified the following priorities for action planning. Work group members engaged in discussions and review of best practices to reduce the use of school suspensions and expulsions and increase diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff.

• Disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, beginning with early childhood programs by reducing the use of school suspensions and expulsions and increasing the use of counseling services and community-based programs and initiatives
• Increase racial, ethnic, gender, and disability status diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff and the institutions that train them

The Short-Term Suspensions work group identified the following during asset mapping in preparation for action planning. Refer to meeting notes from December 9, 2022, for additional asset mapping questions discussed. 

Priority: Disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, beginning with early childhood programs by reducing the use of school suspensions and expulsions and increasing the use of counseling services and community-based programs and initiatives

• Recommendations for lead agencies for this policy work:
  • U.S. Department of Education
  • Office of Civil Rights
  • American Academy of Pediatrics
• Short-Term strategies to move this policy forward:
  • Educate the public that 4, 5, 6, and 7-year-olds are receiving out-of-school suspensions for minor offenses.
  • Improve practices by teachers and administrators.
  • Build in accountability (fiscal, reporting, etc.).
  • Hold statewide summit to share, learn and develop call to action steps.
  • Continue to get buy-in from principals, administrators, sheriffs, SROs, students, teachers, and parents.
  • Campaign for local district moratoriums and/or adoption of appeal processes.
• Additional assets needed:
  • Training of staff, teaching assistants in each classroom, and access to school counselors, social workers, and community health workers
  • Mental health counselors and resources in schools
  • Need accurate data; funding; training; coaching; accountability; continuous improvement
  • Revised codes of conduct with suspension alternatives in policy

Priority: Increase racial, ethnic, gender, and disability status diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff and the institutions that train them

• Recommendations for lead agencies for this policy work:
  • Refer to the Developing a Representative & Inclusive Vision for Education Final Report and Recommendations for potential lead agencies.
• Short-Term strategies to move this policy forward:
  • Have each local district draft and adopt educator diversity plans with goals and key performance indicators for improvement.

June 2, 2023, 9:00 to 10:00 am, Work Group Meeting

Co-Leads: Gerri Mattson, Laura Gerald, and Letha Muhammad

Attendees: Carlton Powell, Dawn Meskil, Debbie Walker, Devonya Govan-Hunt, Graham Palmer, Paul Ford, Peter Rawitsch, Rachel Zarcone

Presenters: Adam Parent and Kelley Blas

Discussion:

• Received presentation on Understanding EC Funding: CCEIS/CEIS from Adam Parent, IDEA Fiscal Consultant, and Kelley Blas, IDEA Information Analyst, with the Office of Exceptional Children, Division of Educator & Student Advancement at the NC Department of Public Instruction.
  • Additional information on Significant Disproportionality is available at https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/classroom-resources/exceptional-children/educational-equity-and-significant-disproportionality/significant-disproportionality.
• Asked work group members to answer the following questions outside of the meeting regarding the two priorities:
  • Where is this policy occurring, local, regional, or state level?
  • Who are the actors/ people actually doing the policy change and are they involved?
  • Who are/could be the lead agencies?
  • Who should we target to make the policies happen?
• Reviewed next steps:
  • Next Iteration of Work Group: The proposed charge for the 2023-2024 NC SHIP Community Council, including the Short-Term Suspensions Work Group, will be to take action on the priorities the work group has identified.
  • Continuing as work group member: The following work group members present shared they were willing to continue to be involved with the work group: Carlton Powell, Peter Rawitsch, Graham Palmer, Paul Ford, and Dawn Meskil. Work group members not present will be contacted about continuing. 
  • Continuing and new leadership: Letha Muhammad and Gerri Mattson are continuing to be co-leaders for the work group. Laura Gerald is stepping down as a co-leader. Work group members interested in being a co-leader can contact Ashley Rink.
  • New partners/ member recommendations: Work group members are welcome to invite additional partners to be involved with the work group.
  • Next action steps: There will be an opportunity to reevaluate the work group’s meeting schedule and meeting length. Work group members will be contacted about the next steps after the NC SHIP Community Council’s Annual Meeting in July.

May 5, 2023, 9:00 to 10:00 AM, Work Group Meeting

Co-Leads: Gerri Mattson and Laura Gerald; Absent: Letha Muhammad

Attendees: Carlton Powell, Dawn Meskil, Debbie Walker, Devonya Govan-Hunt, Jerry Wilson, Paul Ford, Peter Rawitsch

Discussion:

• Asked work group members if they were willing to continue being a work group member after June 2023.
• Discussed other partners to engage about joining the work group. Recommended the group continue to talk about who should be at the table as continuing action and leave the door up to all sectors of the state. Suggestions for additional partners included the following:
  • National Black Child Development Institute- Charlotte
  • Teachers Union- NC Association of Educators
  • NCAE- North Carolina Association of Educators
  • National or NC PTA
  • Village of Wisdom
  • Exceptional Children Assistance Center (ECAC) is a parent center in NC
  • DPI- adding members from different perspectives
  • Child Care Commission
  • North Carolina School Boards Association
  • LatinxEd
  • EPIC
  • UNC School of Social Work
• Received an update from Peter Rawitsch on the disproportionality of out-of-school suspensions for special education students in New Hanover County Schools. 
• Reviewed topics for next work group meeting:
  • Letha Muhammad: Share about school resource officers and their impact on school discipline
  • Graham Palmer: Share about training for school resource officers
  • Rachel Zarcone: Share about NC SEL State Implementation Team during
  • Significant Disproportionality/ Mandatory Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS)- Dawn Meskil to invite someone to speak about this process
  • Review and agreement on recommendations and summary of work

April 12, 2023, 11:00 to 12:00 PM, Work Group Meeting          

Co-Leads: Laura Gerald, Gerri Mattson, and Letha Muhammad

Attendees: Paul Ford, Dawn Meskil, Graham Palmer, Peter Rawitsch, Rachel Zarcone

Discussion:

• Reviewed the two policy priorities identified at the previous work group meeting:
  • Disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, beginning with early childhood programs by reducing the use of school suspensions and expulsions and increasing the use of counseling services and community-based programs and initiatives
  • Increase racial, ethnic, gender, and disability status diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff and the institutions that train them
• Shared potential models to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline and increase diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff. Models and topics discussed included:
  • New Hanover County’s Policy 4351 Short-Term Suspensions
  • Pyramid Model
  • School resource officers
  • Short-term suspension clinics/ policy education for parents and students
  • Building capacity through philanthropic structures
  • Social-emotional learning
  • Governor’s DRIVE (Developing a Representative and Inclusive Vision for Education) Task Force recommendations
• Identified next steps were:  
  • All Work Group Members: Review resources shared during work group meeting
  • Letha Muhammad: Share about efforts around school resource officers during May 5 meeting.
  • Graham Palmer: Share about training for school resource officers during June 2 meeting.
  • Rachel Zarcone: Share about NC SEL State Implementation Team during June 2 meeting.

March 3, 2023, 9:00 to 10:00 am, Work Group Meeting

Co-Leads: Laura Gerald and Letha Muhammad; Absent: Gerri Mattson

Attendees: Carlton Powell, Dawn Meskil, Devonya Govan-Hunt, Jerry Wilson, Karen Fairley, Lindsey Guyton, Peter Rawitsch

Discussion:

• Decided to keep the priority policies separate:
  • Disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, beginning with early childhood programs by reducing the use of school suspensions and expulsions and increasing the use of counseling services and community-based programs and initiatives
  • Increase racial, ethnic, gender, and disability status diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff and the institutions that train them
• Received highlights and recommendations from Karen Fairley on the Consolidated Data Report, 2021-2022, presented to the State Board of Education.
• Identified next steps for work group members to complete by the next meeting in April. 
  • Bring examples of alternatives to help reduce the use of suspensions as a disciplinary action in schools.
  • Identify where “Increase racial, ethnic, gender, and disability status diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff and the institutions that train them” is already happening.
  • Identify a list of offerings related to ““Increase racial, ethnic, gender, and disability status diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff and the institutions that train them.”

February 2, 2023, 10:00 to 11:00 am, Work Group Meeting

Co-Leads: Gerri Mattson and Letha Muhammad; Absent: Laura Gerald

Attendees: Carlton Powell, Devonya Govan-Hunt, Ellen Fox, Graham Palmer, Jerry Wilson, Karen Fairley, Paul Ford, Rachel Zarcone

Discussion:

• Discussed each of the prioritized policies and next steps. A summary of the policy discussion and next steps are included below.
  • Include suspension rate in measures of school quality
    • Concerns were voiced about including suspension rates in measures of school quality, including that suspension rates are disproportionally high at schools with lower resources or accessibility and may perpetuate a negative reputation and lower suspensions rates are not indicative of how children are treated and the inequities that continue to exist.
    • The consensus of the work group members present was for this policy to not be a priority.
  • Disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, beginning with early childhood programs by reducing the use of school suspensions and expulsions and increasing the use of counseling services and community-based programs and initiatives AND Increase racial, ethnic, gender, and disability status diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff and the institutions that train them
    • Consensus was that starting in the early childhood education space was important. There are not policies in place that prohibit three- and four-year-old children from being suspended from early childhood education. There are a disproportionate number of black and brown children being pushed out of early childhood education spaces.
    • The second policy is more about cultivating belonging, affirming identities, and creating more inclusive spaces, including adding credible messengers in schools with lived experiences. Research shows that teacher diversity benefits all students, regardless or race or ethnicity; refer to https://edtrust.org/resource/educator-diversity-state-profile-north-carolina/.
    • The work group members present were in favor of keeping both of these policies as priorities, either as separate policies or combining them.
    • Next steps shared were to synthesize the conversations from the work group meeting, decide to combine the two priority policies or to keep them separate, and consider who else needs to be invited to share additional information regarding these policy areas.

December 9, 2022, 9:00 to 10:00 am, Work Group Meeting

Co-Leads: Gerri Mattson and Laura Gerald; Absent: Letha Muhammad

Work Group Members Present: Carlton Powell, Dawn Meskil, Ellen Fox, Graham Palmer, James E. Ford, Karen Fairley, Paul Ford, Peter Rawitsch, and Rachel Zarcone

Discussion:

• Reviewed the policies prioritized at the previous meeting.
  • Disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, beginning with early childhood programs by reducing the use of school suspensions and expulsions and increasing the use of counseling services and community-based programs and initiatives
  • Include suspension rate in measures of school quality
  • Increase racial, ethnic, gender, and disability status diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff and the institutions that train them
• Discussed asset mapping using the following questions for each of the three prioritized policies.
  • Are you working in an area related to this policy? If so, who do you work with related to this?
  • Do you have sources of data to assess the progress of this policy?
  • What plans, programs/initiatives, and/or policy agendas are you aware of related to this policy?
  • What would be short-term strategies to move this policy forward?
  • What sources of funding are and/or may be available for this policy initiative?
  • What are additional assets needed?
  • Who are additional agencies and/or people that should be involved in the work related to this policy?
  • What are recommendations for lead agencies for this policy work?
  • What other questions, comments, and/or concerns do you have related to this policy?
• Identified next steps were to continue to add responses to the asset mapping Jamboard and to continue discussions at the next meeting on potential strategies and action planning.

October 19, 2022, 9:00 to 11:00 am, Work Group Meeting (Short-Term Suspensions, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Third Grade Reading Proficiency)

Co-Leads: Gerri Mattson, Jessica Lowery Clark, Laura Gerald, Letha Muhammad, Mary Mathew, Mebane Boyd (Absent), Wanda Boone

Work Group Members Present: Amber Pierce, Amber Robinson, Carlton Powell, Crystal Kelly, Crystal Taylor, Dawn Meskil, Devonya Govan-Hunt, Dr. Ronda Taylor Bullock, Elizabeth DeKonty, James E. Ford, Jess Bousquette, Karen Fairley, Kella Hatcher, Micha James, Morgan Forrester Ray, Na’im Akbar, Reverend Paul Robeson, Paula Wilkins, Peter Rawitsch, Rebecca Swofford, Stacie Kinlaw, Susanne Schmal, Trina Stephens, Trishana Jones, Vichi Jagannathan,

Discussion:

• Reviewed purpose of the work group, grounding/group norms, and overview Healthy North Carolina 2030 and North Carolina State Health Improvement Plan (NC SHIP).
• Divided into breakout sessions for Short-Term Suspensions, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Third Grade Reading Proficiency to review, discuss, and prioritize policies. Prioritized policies by indicator breakout session are included below.
• Shared next steps were for the work group to complete asset mapping for each of the prioritized policies. The indicators will meet separately going forward and will discuss strategies and action planning at the December meetings. Work group members are welcome to join multiple indicator groups.

Indicator 3: Short-Term Suspensions Breakout Session

• Co-Leads Present: Dr. Laura Gerald and Dr. Gerri Mattson
• Work Group Members Present: Carlton Powell, Crystal Kelly, Dawn Meskil, Devonya Govan-Hunt, James E. Ford, Karen Fairley, Reverend Paul Robeson, Peter Rawitsch, Dr. Ronda Taylor Bullock, Vichi Jagannathan
• Prioritized Policies:
  • Disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, beginning with early childhood programs by reducing the use of school suspensions and expulsions and increasing the use of counseling services and community-based programs and initiatives
  • Include suspension rate in measures of school quality
  • Increase racial, ethnic, gender, and disability status diversity among school and childcare leadership and staff and the institutions that train them

August 15, 2022, 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Co-Lead Planning Meeting (Short-Term Suspensions, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Third Grade Reading Proficiency)

Co-Leads: Wanda Boone, Mebane Boyd, Laura Gerald, Jessica Lowery Clark, Mary Mathew, Gerri Mattson, and Letha Muhammad

Discussion:

• Set ground rules and norms for the co-leads and work group.
• Reviewed the proposed policy initiatives from the NC SHIP for Indicator 3: Short-Term Suspensions, Indicator 5: Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Indicator 6: Third Grade Reading Proficiency. Identified questions and discussed recommended revisions.
• Planned for work group meetings, including meeting structure and first meeting agenda topics.