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Early Childhood Suspension and Expulsion: A Content Analysis of State Legislation

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Abstract

In recent decades, there has been considerable public interest and policy action regarding the issue of exclusionary discipline from early care and education (ECE) settings. While numerous states have pursued legislation to address this practice, the legislation has received scarce empirical attention. Using a qualitative approach, the current study investigated state legislation addressing ECE exclusionary discipline (13 bills from 12 states as of January 2019) based on an existing policy framework with the following domains: Motivating Rationale, Population, Alternatives and Practices, Accountability, Personnel Development, and Financing. The majority of bills recommended reducing or banning the use of expulsion in publicly funded preschools, and many bills offered alternative responses to expulsion, ranging from general responses (e.g., behavioral supports) to specific responses (e.g., early childhood mental health consultation). There was variability in the extent to which bills outlined recommendations for accountability, such as data tracking, and financing or recommended alternative responses. Based on our review of the legislation, the following recommendations were identified to support future legislative advances for this issue: identify developmentally-appropriate, evidence-based practices that curtail exclusionary discipline as well as its disproportionate impact on young boys of color; expand the scope of the legislative protections; incorporate mandates related to funding and enforcement; collect data; and include stakeholders when crafting and evaluating legislation.

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This work was supported by the Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being.

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Appendix: Themes and selected codes

Appendix: Themes and selected codes

Themes

Select codes

Motivating Rationale

Long-term benefits of positive early childhood education

Long-term consequence of suspension/expulsion

Developmental considerations

Types of disparities/disproportionalities

Goal/Purpose of legislation

Scope of phenomenon in state

Data gaps

Policy gaps

Population

ED allowed (circumstances for which ED permitted)

Inclusion (Student type bill applies to)

Entities that do not have to comply with legislation

Definition of ED provided

Alternatives/Practices

Pre-expulsion school policies (Selected/Indicated Prevention)

Post Expulsion steps

School-level policy practices

General expulsion prevention interventions

Specific Pre-Expulsion intervention/practices

Specific Post-Expulsion intervention/practices

Prohibition of expulsion/suspension

Planned transitions

Financing

Funding source

Funding agent

Funding timeline

Parent based/targeted funding

Accountability

Implementation timeline

Required reporting: Standards

Required reporting: Population served

Required reporting: Expulsion related

Required reporting: Report recipient

Personnel Development

Training regarding disparities and fairness

Support and technical assistance

Timing of training

Training provider

Training on school-wide issues

Training on classroom issues

Child and family-focused training

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Loomis, A., Davis, A., Cruden, G. et al. Early Childhood Suspension and Expulsion: A Content Analysis of State Legislation. Early Childhood Educ J 50, 327–344 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01159-4

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