Stand Up for Maryland's Littlest Learners! Support the END on Pre K Suspensions!

Urge your Maryland state legislators to vote in support of Maryland House Bill HB425 and BAN the practice of suspending preschoolers without any further delay.

Children suspended at an early age are at greater risk of being suspended later in their educational lives. Suspension and expulsion adversely impact a child’s developmental, health and educational outcomes. These practices deny children critical opportunities to learn academic and social skills during a foundational time in their development.

This often leads to student disengagement, academic failure, and entry into the school-to-prison pipeline.

Raise your voice by filling out the form on this page right now!

Dear Maryland Legislator:

Alarmingly, during the 2015-16 school year, over two thousand of Maryland’s youngest students in prekindergarten through second grade were suspended out-of-school or expelled. This is almost twenty percent higher than the previous school year.

Stopping expulsion and suspension of our littlest learners in Maryland schools is a necessary first step to ensuring no child’s love of learning is halted before it even starts. I urge you to support House Bill 425/ SB 651 prohibiting early childhood suspension & expulsion in public schools.

Key provisions of the bill include;

Prohibiting out-of-school suspension or expulsion of students enrolled in a public pre-kindergarten program, kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd graders with a limited exception.
Providing for alternatives to suspension, including the provision of positive interventions and supports, behavior intervention plans, referrals to the student support team or IEP team, and referrals to community-based services.

Suspension and expulsion adversely impact a child’s developmental, health and educational outcomes. These practices deny children critical opportunities to learn academic and social skills during a foundational time in their development. Children suspended at an early age are at greater risk of being suspended later in their educational lives.

Moreover, research demonstrates that problematic childhood behaviors are better addressed through classroom management, positive behavior supports, and other evidence-based interventions, and that suspension is not effective in changing behavior or in making schools safer.

Please support our littlest learners by passing House Bill 425/ SB 651 to ensure that no child’s love of learning is halted before it even starts.

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