CW: Exclusion & Race
A child’s first day of school is a very exciting day for most families. Parents drop off their children with the hope that they will learn, make friends and have fun. But for one family who was interviewed for a new report published by the Education Law Center in Pennsylvania, that experience ended almost as soon as it began. Their autistic daughter was sent home less than two hours into her first day of preschool.
Her story is not unusual. It is part of the phenomenon known as “preschool pushout.” It involves suspensions and expulsions, and other informal measures to remove children from these programs, such as pressuring parents to take children home early or offering children shorter hours.
Children were being barred from classrooms, receiving little or no support. They were also treated like a problem to be managed, not a student to be educated, said families interviewed for the report.
Another family said that their 3-year-old autistic son has been turned down by four preschool programs. One parent explained that her non-verbal autistic son had regressed and withdrawn emotionally from school when the school had insisted on reducing his school day. A third family saw their child miss more than a month of preschool and critical therapies because the support services he required were not provided. While the details vary from story to story, the theme is consistent: disabled children continue to be denied access to educational opportunities due to either the unwillingness or inability of schools to meet their needs.
It is estimated that 174,000 children are suspended and 21,600 are expelled from preschools nationwide every year. Unfortunately, disabled children are suspended or expelled at 14.5 times the rate of their non-disabled peers. Exclusion often starts well before kindergarten and has a long-term impact on education for many disabled children.
Preschool pushout is not an isolated problem. It can be the start of a pattern which continues for the rest of a child’s school career. Disabled students represented 14% of all students enrolled in the 2020–2021 school year. However, 24% of out-of-school suspensions, 18% of in-school suspensions, and 17% of school-related arrests occurred among disabled students. These statistics indicate that there is a significant gap between the rates of discipline for disabled students and nondisabled students.
The disparities don’t stop at suspension and expulsion. During the same school year, students receiving special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act accounted for 32% of students who were mechanically restrained, 81% of those who were physically restrained, and 75% of those who were secluded.
The numbers are concerning. They are raising questions about how schools address behaviors as they relate to disability and whether they are providing sufficient support before taking disciplinary action.
Other states’ data reflects this also. In 2023-2024, over 14,000 disabled students were removed from school in NYC during a school year. They made up just 22% of the student body but nearly 39% of the total number of removals and suspensions in schools. The overrepresentation seen in preschool continues throughout the educational system.
When disability overlaps with race, these inequalities become even more glaring. For example, Black children are more likely than white children to be suspended or expelled from preschool, and Black disabled children d are among those facing very high rates of exclusion in the education system.
Numerous studies have found that Black preschoolers are not only more likely to be seen as having behavioral problems but also to be disciplined more severely for the same behaviors. Therefore, children who are both disabled and from racial minority groups experience multiple types of discrimination that may lead to their being pushed out of school.
The racial disparities extend beyond identification as well. Compared to other students, Black students with disabilities are disciplined more frequently and more severely.
For example, in Minneapolis Public Schools, Black disabled students have been suspended at a rate higher than their representation, mirroring the national trend of racial inequity. Additionally, state-level data revealed that in the 2023-2024 academic year, Black students with disabilities were disproportionately receiving out-of-school suspensions exceeding ten days.
Such disciplinary measures not only take students away from their education but also contribute to the early criminalization and marginalization of children, especially those experiencing the dual effects of racial and disability-based discrimination.
Advocates say these results are not due to children being poorly behaved or not following the rules, but because systems are less accommodating than they need to be. Often, trained staff, behavior support, and appropriate resources are unavailable in schools. Instead of receiving accommodations and assistance, children are excluded from the very environments designed to help them learn and grow.
The stories presented in the Education Law Center report remind us that educational exclusion can begin a lot earlier than we think. Some students are already being told that they don’t belong in the classroom long before they come into contact with a zero-tolerance policy or a disciplinary hearing. Addressing pushout at preschool will take more than a policy change. It will require a commitment to providing all children with the support, inclusion and educational opportunities they deserve from the beginning, regardless of their disability.
Sources:
Core Principles: Disproportionality in Identification for Special Education.” Learning Disabilities Association of America, Learning Disabilities Association of America, 20 Aug. 2020, ldaamerica.org/core-principle-disproportionality-in-identification-for-special-education/.
Diament, Michelle. “Ed Department Finds Students with Disabilities Disproportionately Disciplined.” Disability Scoop, 16 Nov. 2023, http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2023/11/16/ed-department-finds-students-with-disabilities-disproportionately-disciplined/30638/.
Karter, Erin. “Study Finds Discipline Disparities in Preschool Driven by Racial Bias.” Northwestern Now, Northwestern University, 28 Sept. 2021, https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2021/september/study-finds-discipline-disparities-in-preschool-driven-by-racial-bias
Perkins, Christine. “Report Finds Wide Disparities in Punishment of Students with Disabilities by Race.” Harvard Law Today, Harvard University , 19 Apr. 2018, hls.harvard.edu/today/report-finds-wide-disparities-punishment-students-disabilities-race/.
Poe, Cheryl. “Education a Civil Rights Issue for Black Students with Disabilities & Families.” The 74, 9 Aug. 2023, http://www.the74million.org/article/education-a-civil-rights-issue-for-black-students-with-disabilities-families/.
Walsh, James. “Disabled Maple Grove Teen Takes School District Discrimination Case to U.S. Supreme Court.” The Minnesota Star Tribune, 15 Mar. 2025, http://www.startribune.com/disabled-maple-grove-teen-takes-school-district-discrimination-case-to-us-supreme-court/601236778.
Whitler , Melissa. “State: Minneapolis Public Schools Violating Disability Law.” News From The States, States Newsroom, 14 Aug. 2025, http://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/state-minneapolis-public-schools-violating-disability-law.
Zimmerman, Alex. “Justice Delayed” NYC Students with Disabilities Face Longer Suspensions than Allowed.” Chalkbeat, 21 May 2025, http://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/05/21/nyc-public-schools-suspend-students-with-disabilities-in-unlawful-manner/.