Discipline Methods: Parents Growing Concerned Over Charter Schools’ Student Treatment

Charter schools are under scrutiny because a lot of parents are noticing the way they discipline students, which ends up with students leaving school for good. This issue has been raised in the media, saying that institutions like this are going overboard and are doing something wrong when it comes to the way they are handling their students, especially when they are 10 years old and below.

This whole controversy started back in October 2015 when Success Academy, a known charter school in New York, revealed that one of their school principals had released a list of students bound for suspension. Some of those students eventually withdrew themselves from the institution.

According to The New York Times, the principal of the school even labeled the list as "Got To Go." Not only that, but the principal was not afraid or phased by parents and critics who would probably be concerned about the list he created.

In an article published by The Huffington Post, UCLA Civil Rights Project hopped on this issue, answering concerns behind how charter schools are handling students when it comes to discipline. According to the data they collected from 2011 to 2012, more than 5,000 of charter schools were found to punish students more severely than conventional public schools.

My brother went to Success Academy 5 years ago and my mother hated it. My brother's friend said it felt like a jail. They were 8.

— juce (@jjucey) March 17, 2016

Based on the report, African American children and students with disabilities are more affected than other kids in this type of school. Fortunately for charter schools, they weren't asked to close down or do anything drastic that will affect their entire business.  

Instead, they were asked to lower the number of students that they are suspending. In addition to that, they must also just use disciplinary actions that could address their students' behavior issues without having to put them on a "Got To Go" list.

Back in the school year of 2011-2012, charter schools reached a higher percentage of suspended students compared to public schools. This is a wake-up call for charter schools and hopefully, they change their ways, as they are now being watched by a lot of people since this issue was brought up.