Children with disabilities as young as 2 are being suspended and expelled from school often for behaviors that are related to their diagnoses, according to a new report detailing their experiences.
In one case, a parent was called to pick up her daughter with autism less than two hours into her first day of pre-k. And, a different family shared that their 3-year-old who is on the spectrum has been tossed out of four preschool programs.
The report from the Education Law Center-PA focuses on families in Pennsylvania affected by what’s known as “preschool pushout.” In some cases, that means children are formally suspended or expelled, but it can also include informal efforts to sideline a child like frequently asking parents to pick them up early.
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Preschools nationwide suspend an estimated 174,000 students each year, the report notes, and pushout disproportionately affects children of color and those with disabilities. The report cites data showing that preschoolers with disabilities are suspended or expelled at a rate that’s 14.5 times higher than that of their typically developing peers.
Parents describe the experiences as heartbreaking, dramatic and unfair and experts warn that the trauma from being pushed out of preschool has lasting impacts on children.
“Preschool pushout is not about children failing to meet expectations — it’s about systems failing to meet children’s needs and violating their rights,” said Rose Wehrman, an attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Education Law Center-PA, which advocates for education access in Pennsylvania. “When very young children are pushed out of early learning settings, it is a clear signal that programs lack the investment, resources and accountability to support all children.”
The report includes the story of Hank, a 4-year-old with autism who is Black and nonverbal. His mother Marge recounted to the Education Law Center-PA how he was left without his communication device for hours at school and was not fed unless his therapist was present. The school repeatedly encouraged Hank to attend on a reduced schedule, Marge said.
“The school’s insistence on altering my son’s schedule to accommodate their staffing issues and avoid supporting his needs made it impossible for him to stay” and amounted to “indirect expulsion,” said Marge. She called the impact on her son “devastating” and said he experienced “regression, emotional shutdown, and a loss of trust in school routines.”
When Irelyn enrolled her son Xavier, who is Black and has autism, in preschool at age 2, she said she shared everything about him with the director and was assured that it would be fine. But not long after he started, Irelyn was told that he was “no longer a good fit,” a final decision that was made without any conversation about supports or other possible solutions, she said.
Another parent, Pamela, shared that her son Alex, who is Black and has autism, was excluded from preschool for over a month because his one-to-one aide did not show up, forcing him to miss physical, speech, occupational and behavioral therapy and impacting his parents’ employment and income.
“It was not until I got a lawyer involved that Alex started to get the supports he needs, and it should not be that way,” Pamela said.
The report calls on policymakers to prohibit suspension and expulsion in early childhood programs and take other steps to ensure supports are available for children with disabilities.
“We urge decision-makers everywhere to center families as experts as they make urgently needed policy changes to end preschool pushout,” said Hillary Linardopoulos, policy director at the Education Law Center-PA.
