When California passed a measure a few years ago banning suspensions for acts of willful defiance in elementary and middle schools, the reaction was mixed. People feared what might happen if we took away one of the most frequently used tools in our schools’ toolboxes when managing severe behavior.
I argued that mandating administrators to stop suspending students would not, on its own, solve the problem. We cannot simply take something that has not been working away. We must replace it with something more effective. Thankfully, proven alternatives exist that do not rely on power and control and combat rather than reinforce racially biased practices.
So, it was incredibly gratifying to see a new law passed in our home state of Massachusetts this past week requiring decision-makers to utilize evidence-based alternatives to suspension in our public schools. The approach we teach at Think:Kids, called Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS), was named as one of the recommended alternatives alongside other models, like restorative practices, which pair very well with each other.