What is early childhood suspension and expulsion?
Suspension or expulsion happens when a child is removed from their early childhood classroom. In practice, this can look a few different ways. The child may be sent out of the classroom to the director’s office. Parents may be asked repeatedly to pick up their child early because of bad behavior. Or a family may be asked to find another program because the current one isn’t a “good fit.” More examples are summed up well in this SRI infographic.
How do suspension and expulsion affect young children?
When children are removed from their early childhood programs, they miss out on important benefits. They don’t get to participate in activities with other children that allow them to practice sharing and taking turns. They also lose opportunities to build positive relationships with educators, which is important for healthy brain development. Missing out on crucial early experiences such as these is why suspension and expulsion can be harmful.
Early childhood expulsions are a big problem. A 2005 national study of publicly-funded preschool programs found that:
- Preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of children in Kindergarten through 12th grades.
- Boys in preschool are four times as likely to be expelled as girls are.
- African American children are expelled almost twice as often as Latino and white children.
Why are children expelled from early childhood programs?
When educators are overwhelmed by a child’s challenging behaviors, they may see expulsion as the best option — behaviors like biting, shouting, or aggression toward others. Sometimes these challenging behaviors are part of typical child development. The challenging behaviors may be a child’s response to stress or trauma.
What is currently being done to address this issue?
Publicly-funded programs in Minnesota including Head Start, Voluntary Prekindergarten, and Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) may not suspend students and can only expel students in limited cases after certain steps have been taken. Licensed Family Child Care and Child Care Centers do not have these rules in place, though the 2022 Parent Aware Racial Equity Plan recommended the state create policies around suspension and expulsion for Parent Aware-participating programs.
What more is needed?
Just banning suspensions and expulsions isn’t enough to stop them. Early childhood educators need training and support to create classrooms where all children can succeed. They need training and support to address a range of challenging behaviors. One helpful approach is called trauma-informed care, which teaches educators how to support children who have experienced difficult or harmful situations.
When children get the chance to stay in high-quality care and education programs, it benefits them, their families, and the whole community. Giving more children access to these positive experiences helps set them up for future success.
Want to read more about expulsion in early childhood programs? Check out this resource from the National Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center.
For more information, including training opportunities to support early childhood educators, be sure to follow Think Small on Facebook.
By Marie Huey, Public Policy and Advocacy Team Leader
