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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The Rhode Island Senate has passed legislation that would curb out-of-school suspensions and curtail racial disparities in school discipline.
The Senate passed the bill last week. It would direct school superintendents to review discipline data for their school districts, decide whether there is an unequal impact on students based on race, ethnicity, or disability status and respond to any disparity.
It would also limit out-of-school suspensions to the most disruptive students.
The House passed a similar bill and must now take up the Senate's version.
The bill's sponsor, Providence Democratic Rep. Grace Diaz, says it expands on a 2012 law she sponsored that bans schools from making students stay home just because of truancy or absenteeism.
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