Introduction of H. Res. 1777, A Resolution Raising Awareness of School Pushout and Promoting Dignity in Schools -- Hon. Christopher S. Murphy

Floor Speech

* Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I rise today in proud support of H. Res. 1777, a resolution raising awareness of school pushout and promoting dignity in schools.

* I want to start by thanking my colleagues Representatives Bobby Scott and Danny Davis for partnering with me on this effort and for their long and esteemed records of standing up for children and civil rights.

* I also want to thank the parents, teachers, students, school administrators, advocates and academics from across Connecticut whose expertise and input were essential in drafting this resolution.

* We are introducing this resolution for the millions of students who are pushed out of school each year at the hands of harsh and exclusionary zero-tolerance school discipline policies.

* We are introducing it for the 14-year boy with Aspergers syndrome from Richardson, Texas who was given a $364 police citation for swearing in class.

* We are introducing it for the six-year-old student of Newark, Delaware who was so excited about joining the Cub Scouts that he brought his camping utensil to school. Because it had a small knife, he was suspended and referred to an alternative school for 5 days.

* And we are introducing the resolution for the 16-year-old of New York City who broke school policy by using a cell phone. He was subsequently detained and beaten by school police officers, rushed to the emergency room, and, outrageously, charged with disorderly conduct. Fortunately for the boy and his family, those charges were later dropped.

* Madam Speaker, unfortunately, those stories are not random acts of irresponsible school administration. They are representative of a growing trend.

* Now, before I go any further, it is important to recognize that there are many cases where the removal of a student from school is absolutely necessary. When a student poses a real safety threat to teachers or his or her fellow students, suspension or expulsion is warranted.

* Yet too often, kids in this country are being excluded from school at a growing rate for unjustifiable reasons.

* According to the Department of Education, over 3 million students are suspended and over 100,000 are expelled from school each year often, for minor offenses. Hundreds of others are arrested or sent to alternative schools for incidents historically dealt with within school walls.

* Disturbingly, African American, Hispanic and disabled students are disproportionately impacted.

* As you can imagine, kicking youth out of the classroom without addressing underlying issues for their behavior doesn't help that child, and usually doesn't improve the learning climate of the school.

* In fact, the American Psychological Association has found that suspension and expulsion negatively impact school-wide achievement and increase the risk that excluded students fall behind academically, become alienated from school, drop out, and become involved with the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.

* In other words, these harsh practices are pushing kids out of the classroom and creating what has been widely dubbed as a ``school-to-prison pipeline.''

* In 2007 in my own home state of Connecticut, 89% of the 16 and 17-year olds involved with the criminal justice system had been suspended or expelled from school. While this may be attributable to many factors, common sense will tell you that when a kid is expelled from school, home alone without supervision, he's likely to keep getting into trouble.

* Fortunately, there is also great work being done in Connecticut and across the country to address school pushout and our resolution commends those efforts.

* Counterproductive zero-tolerance policies are being replaced with evidenced-based behavior management and discipline practices. Schools are partnering with community leaders and services to better support at-risk students. Parent engagement is being prioritized and states are passing laws limiting the use of exclusionary discipline practices.

* These efforts are producing real results in decreasing behavioral incidents and improving school climate and student achievement.

* Yet what I've heard time and time again is that in order to be successful, Congress needs to support and help expand these efforts.

* We need to help teachers and administrators who aren't receiving the training they want and need to effectively manage a classroom.

* And we must support efforts to adopt evidenced based practices to improve student engagement and school safety by providing both effective technical assistance and flexibility for our schools.

* Most importantly, we have to acknowledge this rising problem in our nation's schools and commit to working together to stop it.

* I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the resolution.

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