The 74

Two years ago, Minnesota outlawed most suspensions and all disciplinary seclusion of very young pupils in schools. An outgrowth of an effort to curb police abuses in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, it was a change that advocates for children with disabilities and students of color had long sought. But now, bills before the state legislature would roll back these reforms and again allow schools to dismiss children in kindergarten through third grade. Three measures under consideration would strip a prohibition on “disciplinary dismissals” — the removal of children from schools — in grades K-3, loosen the definition of student behavior meriting exclusion from the classroom, end a requirement that schools try non-exclusionary strategies before dismissing a child and let schools once again punish youngsters by denying or delaying their access to lunch and recess. A separate bill would overturn a ban on seclusion for K-3 students — the practice of confining a child in isolation. Some people believe seclusion should be an option when a child’s behavior is out of control. Others call it punitive and cruel, particularly when used on very young children. That split was evident in testimony at a recent state House of Representatives hearing on the legislation.