Students with physical and mental disabilities are much more likely to be disciplined than other students in the state, according to Oklahoma Watch’s Nate Robson.
Special education students are two to 10 times more likely to be disciplined at some schools in Oklahoma, and at others, every special education student has been physically disciplined, suspended or expelled. Special education students include those with learning disabilities, autism, development delays and speech and health impairments.
Robson says some districts stand out. Of the 20 schools with the highest expulsion rates in the state, 17 are in Tulsa Public Schools. Each of those schools expelled more than 50 percent of its special education students.
In Konawa High School, 100 percent of its 26 special education students were given corporal punishment in 2011-2012, compared to 15 percent of other students, according to the federal data. Corporal punishment usually involves spanking or slapping. (In Oklahoma, districts have the option of allowing paddling, but most did not report any corporal punishment in 2011-2012.) Konawa Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment. The district has a new superintendent.
In Tulsa Public Schools, the state’s second-largest district, Hawthorne Elementary School expelled 57 percent of its special education population, or 27 students. By comparison, 84 students, or 16 percent, of other students were expelled. Memorial High School expelled 182, or 81 percent, of its special-needs students, compared with 434, or 48 percent, of other students.
Here's how Robson broke down some of the data:
In the 2011-2012 school year, 100,683, or nearly 15 percent, of Oklahoma public-school students were in special education. Here are some discipline numbers for those students: 2,199 Paddled or spanked. 30 Arrested in elementary school. 10,470 Given in-school suspension. 11,282 Given out-of-school suspension. 11 Percent given out-of-school suspension. 2,099 Expelled. 1 Oklahoma’s ranking in percentage expelled. 4 Oklahoma’s ranking in percentage given corporal punishment. Source: U.S. Department of Education data collected from schools.
