Preschoolers Expelled More than Older Kids

Imagine hearing that your child has been expelled – from preschool! A new study reports that pre-kindergartners are expelled at three times the rate of elementary, middle and high school students.


Expulsion is the harshest disciplinary action a school can take against a student. It means the student is no longer allowed to attend the school. While the study, conducted by the Yale University Child Study Center, did not describe the reasons for pre-K expulsions, researchers say they are primarily due to serious behavioral problems.



“No one wants to hear about 3- and 4-year-olds being expelled from preschool, but it happens rather frequently,” according to lead researcher William S. Gilliam.


Researchers sought data on expulsions from the nation’s 52 state-funded pre-K programs in 40 states, and then used a random sample of 4,815 classrooms to complete the study. Among the findings:



• Nearly seven out of every 1,000 pre-kindergarteners are expelled each year – an estimated 5,117 preschoolers in all. The rate is 3.2 times higher than the national expulsion rate (2.1 expulsions per 1,000 enrolled students) for kids in grades K-12.



• Expulsion rates are higher for pre-kindergartners than for students in grades K-12 in all but three states: Kentucky, South Carolina and Louisiana.



Articles Tools

Top