July 25, 2023 School Board Meeting Proceeding

Discipline Data Presentation Slides

Extracted from RPS School Board Meeting Website

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Annual Discipline Data Reporting Video Recording

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July 26, 2023  Post Bulletin Reporting

— The number of suspensions increased in Rochester Public Schools in 2022-23 when compared to the year before, providing school leaders with an ongoing challenge as they try to foster a productive learning environment.

The School Board reviewed suspensions and other discipline data on Tuesday, July 25. “Behavior, broadly defined, continues to be a challenge — not just in K-12 schools but in American society,” Superintendent Kent Pekel said.

According to the district’s data, suspensions increased from 1,224 in 2021-22 to 1,523 in 2022-23, representing a jump of 24.4%.

Although the overall number increased, the percentage breakdown of suspensions by racial subgroups stayed largely the same.

In 2022-23, 28% of the suspensions were among white students, 13% were among students of multiple races, 17% were among Latino students, 38% were among Black RPS touts $10 million tech levy idea, Page A3 students, and 3% were among Asian students.

Those percentages do not match the overall racial makeup of the school district. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, 53.6% of the district’s students are white, 8.2% have two or more races, 12.4% are Latino, 15.7% are Black, and 9% are Asian.

In accordance with new state requirements, RPS will no longer be suspending students up to third grade.

“It was not in large numbers, but that was happening,” Pekel said about suspending young students. “We, like every school district, are trying to understand what the alternatives are.”

During the meeting, the board members discussed a range of data related to student behavior. Overall, approximately 7% of students in Rochester Public Schools had an infraction in 2022-23.

The category with the highest number of the instances was “interruptions to the learning environment.”

There were 1,484 instances of that, representing a 35% increase over the year before. There were 240 drug and alcohol infractions, compared with 180 the year before — a 33% increase.

Other categories saw a decrease. There were 556 instances of assaults and fighting in 2022-23, which was down from 703 the year before — representing a 21% decrease.

There were 120 instances of property damage and theft, down from 148 the year before — representing an 18.9% decrease. The amount of bullying stayed relatively the same, going from 175 instances in 2021-22 to 170 this past year — a decrease of 2.8%.

There were 64 weapons infractions in 2022-23, up from 50 the year before. There were 30 instances of sexual misconduct reported in 2022-23, compared with 36 the year before.

While reviewing the discipline data, the board members and district administration discussed responses to student infractions, as well as the need to get ahead of the situation to prevent them in the first place.

“We have to get systematic about this work,” Pekel said. “It’s being systematic about how we create positive culture from the get-go, both collectively and individually.”

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