SOUTHEAST SEATTLE – Next week, the League of Education Voters will team up with Washington Appleseed and TeamChild to host SUSPENDED: Out of School, Out of Luck, a community event on transforming school discipline.

The event is scheduled for Thur., Feb. 21, from 7 to 8:30pm at the New Holly Gathering Hall (7054 32nd Ave. S.). The evening will begin with a 6 pm reception and resource fair. The event is free and open to the public. Register here.

Attendees will hear the results of the joint Washington Appleseed/ TeamChild report Reclaiming Students: The Educational and Economic Costs of Exclusionary Discipline in Washington state. Released in November of 2012, the report, found several disturbing trends, including;

• Students in Washington state missed over 70,000 days of school in the 2009-2010 school year due to exclusionary discipline practices like expulsion.
• Students of color, low-income students, and students with disabilities are far more likely to be removed from class and/or suspended.
• Suspensions add up. Many students with a pattern of discipline problems lose credits, fail courses and fall behind in school due to their time out of class.

There will also be a legislative update on the status of bills in the Washington legislature to transform school discipline.