by Madison White Franks
KILMARNOCK—The Lancaster school board on July 10 reviewed discipline data for the 2017-18 school year and discussed ways to reduce incidents of disruptive behavior that often lead to in-school and out-of-school suspensions.
Division wide, the number of students receiving exclusionary discipline totaled 457 in 2017-18 compared to 470 in 2016-17, reported superintendent Dr. Steve Parker.
The number of days of exclusionary discipline declined significantly from 2,595 to 2,136, he said. Out-of-school days dropped significantly from 1,562 in 2016-17 to 994 in 2017-18. In-school suspension increased during 2017-18 from 1,033 to 1,142.
More students are being placed in a setting that will allow them to complete work with assistance, he said.
The percentage of exclusionary discipline days assigned to African American students decreased significantly from 1,979 in 2016-17 to 1,577 in 2017-18, which includes in-school and out-of-school suspension.
White students received 472 exclusionary discipline days, and other races students received 86.
There are approximately 57% black students, 41% white and 2% other races in the school district, said Dr. Parker.
“We have a lot of repeat offenders or frequent flyers that account for many of these days,” he said…