Education groups push to change school suspension rules in NC
Education
August 16, 2024
By Emily Walkenhorst , WRAL education reporter
The Freedom Hill Coalition, which is comprised of 14 separate groups, is calling on lawmakers and school boards to allow students to appeal short-term suspensions, which last fewer than 10 days, and to stop suspending or expelling kids younger than fourth grade.
A coalition of groups focused on helping students and communities of color are pressing for changes to school suspension rules.
The Freedom Hill Coalition launched its Represent! campaign Thursday in Raleigh.
The Coalition, which is comprised of 16 separate groups, is calling on lawmakers and school boards to allow students to appeal short-term suspensions, which last fewer than 10 days, and to stop suspending or expelling kids younger than fourth grade.
Groups in the Coalition include the North Carolina Association of Educators, the Center for Racial Equity in Education, Book harvest, the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity and LatinxEd.
“Students of color have been unfairly, disproportionately suspended, and lawmakers have taken away their right to appeal any of those suspensions,” said Jerry Wilson, policy and advocacy director at the Center for racial Equity and Education (CREED).