January 2024 Update to "Lost Instruction Time in California Schools" (Oct. 2023)

Many educators in California are unaware of just how harmful out of school suspensions can be. When suspended students are barred from attending school, more often than not, the rule broken was some form of minor misconduct.

This update of Lost Instruction Time in California Schools: the Disparate Harm from Post-Pandemic Punitive Suspensions (October 2023), demonstrates that despite the important efforts by the state of California to reduce suspensions, those efforts are seriously insufficient. We know this because the most recent statewide rates of lost instruction due to out of school suspensions2 show a widespread increase in the days lost per 100 students. The increase in these lost instruction rates, is not large for every group, but the 2023 data reverses a consistent downward 6-year trend. 3 In 2023, nearly every racial and ethnic group, as well as students with disabilities, experienced an increase over their rate of lost instruction from the prior year.

In the October report that covered trends through the 2021-22 school year, the state level analysis showed that progress had slowed to a near stand-still, and that at the district level, many districts with high rates were showing increases in those rates. This update of the statewide numbers documents the first overall increase in rates of lost instruction.4 This increase in rates cries out for attention, especially considering looming school budget shortfalls for the 2024-25 school year.

Our updated findings, using the recently released data for 2023, show that not only are the rates for homeless youth increasing for every demographic, but they increased far more for Black and Native American homeless youth than any other groups.

To read the update, see the attached PDF.