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Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Wants To Revamp District's Discipline Code

Oklahoma City Public Schools superintendent Rob Neu addresses reporters during an April 21, 2015 news conference about the district's discipline practices toward minority students.
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Oklahoma City Public Schools superintendent Rob Neu addresses reporters during a Tuesday news conference.

Oklahoma City Public Schools superintendent Rob Neu said Tuesday the district is revisiting its code of conduct, and if kids aren’t threatening the safety of others they need to stay in school.

During a press conference, Neu told reporters he also wants the district to get better at intervening before problems get out of hand. He also emphasized that connecting with the student, parents, and community is vital to the solution.

The Oklahoman’s Tim Willert reports Neu said the district won’t fire or reassign any administrators as a result of the review.

Instead, teachers and principals will undergo intensive training. The district will also more closely monitor suspension data and develop a “early-warning indicator system” to monitor students who are off track academically and provide support. “We’ve got to reteach, re-train our system to reculture it so that all kids are successful,” he said. Neu said he has met with each of the principals to review and discuss their discipline data and practices and outline his new expectations.

Neu also said there’s not enough diversity among staff in the district, saying students need someone in the classroom who looks like them that they can look up to and identify with.

“There’s a multitude of strategies to implement,” he said. “One would be to bring in more teachers and administrators of color and really being more culturally aware of the students that we’re serving.” Neu said the Oklahoma school district hired him, in part, because of his successful track record of addressing unfair and unnecessary suspension practices at his former district in Washington. He said the Oklahoma district would conduct a similar study of the elementary school discipline policies, but did not say when.

Last fall, the Office of Civil Rights filed a complaint against Oklahoma City Public Schools saying the district suspended black and Hispanic students at a higher rate than others.

Neu said the results of the discipline audit were worse than he expected.

“When I see the number of students suspended and the length of time that they’re being suspended, I have great concern,” Neu said.

The report showed that there are major inconsistencies from school to school – but overall suspension rates were very high – and minority students were more likely to get in trouble.

On average students were suspended for six days, but at some schools the average suspension was 19 days.

Neu said this is detrimental to students because they fall behind in their work. 

Kids were most commonly suspended for disruptive behavior, fighting, and defying authority.

Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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