California MAP* to Inclusion and Belonging Newsletter *Making Access Possible | Summer 2018
Preventing Suspension and Expulsion
The MAP* to Inclusion and Belonging Project… Making Access Possible, funded by the Early Education and Support Division of the California Department of Education, provides information, resources, supports and training to help child care providers, educators, specialists and families include children and youth with disabilities or other special needs in child care, after school and community settings. MAP’s News Briefs alert you to newly identified resources and practices that support optimal development and well-being in high quality environments where children with and without disabilities and special needs can thrive together. This news brief introduces California’s new Preventing Suspension and Expulsion of Young Children in Child Care & Early Education Settings website.
New Website! Preventing Suspension and Expulsion of Young Children in Child Care & Early Education Settings: Helpful Resources
Do you have questions or concerns about a child in your care? The CA CSEFEL Leadership Team (California Collaborative on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning) has gathered tools and resources to support you! Your role in supporting the child behind the behavior is vital to the long-term outcomes and well-being of that child.
What is Expulsion and Suspension in Early Childhood Programs?
While there are multiple definitions of the terms, this site uses the following definitions:
- Expulsion: Terminating the child’s participation in the program (even if saying “not a good fit” etc.).
- Out-of-school suspension: not allowing the child to attend the program for a certain number of hours in a day or a certain number of days
- In-school suspension: Sending the child out of the classroom to the “office” or another classroom for a significant portion of the day (over 25% of the time the child is in school)
With the passage of Assembly Bill 752, California’s first law addressing suspension and expulsion in preschool, there is an increased need for tools and materials that can support early care and education programs, particularly California State Preschool Programs, as they work to support ALL children to be successful in their early care and education settings. (See the CDE Management Bulletin 18-06).
Linda Brault, Project Director of MAP to Inclusion and Belonging and national expert on challenging behavior, and Cecelia Fisher-Dahms of the California Department of Education, Early Education and Support Division, co-leaders of the CA CSEFEL Leadership Team, consulted with members of the CA CSEFEL Leadership Team (PDF) to gather actionable and concise tools and resources that could be used by early care and education providers immediately. The resulting website includes a compelling video that helps to put the issue in perspective and nine resource areas. Below is a brief introduction to the video and each of the resource areas that were developed for the website.
Video: Suspension is an adult behavior TEDx talk by Rosemary Allen
This video serves as a great introduction to suspension and expulsion (Video). It provides insight into the core issues and helps you think about strategies to address the problem.
Improve your understanding of Suspension and Expulsion with these Articles, Videos & Webinars.
Nine Resources That You Can Start Using Now to Prevent Suspension and Expulsion
- Preventing Suspensions and Expulsions in Early Childhood Settings website is a good starting point. It includes a self-assessment to help you examine your program’s policies, practices, and needs. The results of the self-assessment will help you reflect on your program’s strengths and needs and provide you a roadmap to navigating the interactive guide also found on the site.
- Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First offers resources to support the healthy well-being of families and staff. Adults need to focus on remaining calm during challenging episodes so that they can effectively interact with and support children with challenging behavior.
- California Tools to Help You Focus on Prevention provides tools and checklists to help teaching teams be systematic in examining the potential contributors to challenging behavior and in documenting strategies they are using to prevent challenging behavior. The Brault Behavior Checklist and the Focusing on Promotion and Prevention work sheet give you ideas for possible strategies to provide support and insight into behavior.
- The Child Care State Capacity Tool lays out a review of the research on expulsion, describes the dimensions of expulsion (reasons for expulsion), provides instruction for how to use the Expulsion Policy Strategy Tool and then provides the tool. Although it is geared for state level action, the information and resources found here are useful for teachers, administrators and school districts and provides a clear vision of the issues and needs related to expulsion.
- Articles, Videos & Webinars on Expulsion - Expulsion and suspension are hot topics all over the country. Here are a few recent articles as well as some webinars that are available from national resources. Two short videos, Unconscious Bias and Every Opportunity, show potential outcomes from different environments. Both are definitely worth the time to watch!
- Resources to Share with Families - This section contains articles, links, and tools that can either be directly shared with family members or used to help staff think about how to communicate with families about challenging behavior.
- The CIBC, California Inclusion and Behavior Consultant Network, funded by the California Department of Education, provides onsite technical assistance to eligible center-based programs and family child care providers to build the capacity of program staff to respond effectively to children with special needs or challenging behaviors. Visit the site to find out how to apply for technical assistance and to see if your program is eligible.
- California Department of Education, Early Education and Support Division Resources The Early Education & Support Division of the California Department of Education funds many statewide projects, products, and activities with resources that may be helpful to programs including CA CSEFEL and MAP to Inclusion and Belonging… Making Access Possible!
- California Department of Education, Special Education Division supports inclusive practice through two programs, Seeds of Partnership and Supporting Inclusive Practice. Both programs focus on support children with disabilities and their families in education settings.
MAP to Inclusion and Belonging… Making Access Possible
More resources on all of these topics can be found on the MAP to Inclusion and Belonging website. You might specifically explore the CA CSEFEL page and these Resources and Links: Social – Emotional & Behavior, Healthy Mind, Healthy Body and Coping with Trauma.
Direct questions or comments about this newsletter to map@wested.org