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OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Unified School District has become the fourth California school district to phase out defiant behavior as a reason to suspend students in grades 4-12.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/1PJ8NgF ) that Oakland's school board voted unanimously on Wednesday night to no longer allow teachers and administrators to kick students out of class for talking back, ignoring orders and other non-violent acts.
School officials in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Pasadena already prohibit suspensions for so-called "willful defiance." Civil and child rights advocates have been lobbying for such changes based on statistics showing that minority students are disproportionately punished for disobedience.
A first-of-its-kind law that took effect in California at the beginning of the year prevents public schools from suspending pupils in kindergarten through 3rd grade for willful defiance.
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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com
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