Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115498

Bridgid Curry¹, Natasha Kanagat¹, Katerina Klumpp¹, Angela Micah¹, and Moira O'Neill, MSN/MPH². (1) Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University, 60 College St., P.O. Box 208034, New Haven, CT 06520, 617-513-9900, bridgid.curry@yale.edu, (2) Office of the Child Advocate, 18-20 Trinity St., Hartford, CT 06106

Objective: The Early School Suspension and Expulsion Project was designed to assess disciplinary practices regarding children in kindergarten through third grade among the 169 school districts in the State of Connecticut. Background: The project was initiated after observing a substantial annual increase in kindergarten expulsions between 1999 and 2000, as reported by the Connecticut State Board of Education. The research was conducted by students at Yale's School of Public Health in conjunction with the Office of the Child Advocate, an independent state agency created to protect the civil and legal rights of Connecticut's children. Methods: Data collection methods included key informant interviews with (1) early childhood education experts and (2) officials from the Connecticut State Department of Education; analysis of the State's Disciplinary Offense Reports for district-level expulsion and suspension incidence data; and a survey of superintendents in the169 school districts in Connecticut to evaluate attitudes toward suspension, expulsion, and other disciplinary interventions. Qualitative analysis was done to determine trends in disciplinary policies across the state. Results: The results highlight the importance of prevention strategies to reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions and demonstrate the need for statewide policies to address early school disciplinary practices. The results of the research will be used by the Office of the Child Advocate to develop a statewide strategy for reducing the rates of suspensions and expulsions of children from kindergarten through third grade.

Learning Objectives:

• The participant in this session will be able to assess the need for preventative strategies and statewide policies to reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions in early childhood education.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.