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Report Finds School Suspension Policies Often Do More Harm Than Good

The Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana recently released one of the first reports to examine New Orleans-specific data on out-of-school suspensions. It's called Suspensions Matter: 2011-2012 Year in Review.

The report, according to Jolon McNeil of the JJPL, finds charter schools across New Orleans generally have lower suspension rates than direct-run schools, where the suspension rates are rising. In some New Orleans schools, one out of every two students has missed school due to a suspension. The report also finds zero tolerance school discipline policies do more harm than good.

McNeil says the report suggests alternatives to suspensions, including programs which teach pro-social behavior and reward it. The project is part of Schools First, a JJPL program that addresses the educational policies that funnel children into the juvenile justice system.

Support for education reporting on WWNO comes from Baptist Community Ministries and Entergy Corporation.

"This is NPR's Morning Edition, at 89.9 WWNO. Good Morning, I'm Diane Mack."

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