S.C. leaders take a closer look at spike in preschool suspensions
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - More preschoolers in South Carolina are getting suspended now than just a few years ago.
What to do about it — and whether there is more to the story than data indicates — has grabbed the focus of a State House that works to improve the lives of children across South Carolina.
Recently, a group of lawmakers, state agency heads, and citizens, known as the Children’s Committee, has been taking a closer look at preschool suspensions in South Carolina.
It’s an action studies show can negatively impact kids later in life.
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“Those young people, for whatever the reasons are that are getting them suspended, those reasons don’t go away, and the problems generally manifest themselves in greater percentages — the problems don’t fix themselves as they get older. They get worse, so I think we should be concerned,” Sen. Mike Reichenbach, R – Florence and a member of the Children’s Committee, said.
New data presented to the committee Tuesday shows the numbers of preschool suspensions overall has risen post-pandemic, with nearly 1,000 3K and 4K students receiving at least one in-school or out-of-school suspension last school year.
That represents a significant increase from 2017, when about 500 students were suspended.
According to the report, children of color and boys in South Carolina face disproportionately higher rates of preschool suspensions.
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“The first step the General Assembly needs to do is make sure that we’re collecting accurate data and that we understand the scope and the scale of the problem,” Reichenbach said. “Government can’t fix every problem, and we recognize that, but where we can improve the lives of South Carolinians is important.”
But some believe the rising number of suspensions alone does not tell the whole story because more students are also enrolled in 4K programs than before.
“I’m actually encouraged by that,” South Carolina Department of Education Deputy Superintendent Matthew Ferguson said, adding the rate of suspensions has remained at around 4% from 2018 to 2024. “So it’s not like this is a problem that has drastically increased since the pandemic. It’s been pretty consistent.”
In recent years, South Carolina has held the ignominious title of the state where preschoolers are most likely to be suspended.
Federal data shows far more preschool students in South Carolina faced at least one out-of-school suspension during the 2017-2018 school year than any other state.
But Michael Leach, the director of the Department of Social Services, said they don’t know if South Carolina’s definition of a suspension is different from other states.
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He noted how, according to a survey presented to the Children’s Committee on Tuesday, the majority of school districts across the state consider a preschooler suspended in school when they are removed from their classroom for a short period of time to collect themselves after exhibiting challenging behavior.
“If it’s accurate, it’s accurate, and we need to address it. But maybe we’re just doing a good job reporting, and our definition is very loosey-goosey,” Leach said.
Among school districts’ recommendations to the committee for addressing this issue were more behavioral interventionists in preschools, additional tools to share with parents, and the development of a standard preschool code of conduct.
“There’s no silver bullet,” Louise Johnson with the South Carolina Department of Mental Health said. “There will be a number of different — we’ll need a comprehensive approach in order to address the issue.”
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