The city was able to reduce the number of suspensions for school kids by 17% over the last academic year — about 9,000 fewer suspensions than the year before, education officials said Friday.
There were 44,626 suspensions issued in the 2014-15 academic year, the Department of Education said.
That was a noticeable drop from the 53,000 suspensions in 2013-14, officials said.
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The decline was even more significant when compared to two years before that: There were 69,643 suspensions given out in the 2011-12 academic year.
City schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña announced a plan in early 2015 to revamp discipline codes in schools, including retraining staff and reducing the use of 911 calls.
The current data runs from June 30, 2014, to this past June 30, which marks the end of the 2014-15 school year.
There was also a decrease in the number of school-based arrests and summonses made by the School Safety Division, DOE said.
Those were down 27% compared to last year and summonses were down by 15%, according to the agency.
“Reducing the need for suspensions and keeping our schools safe remains one of my top priorities — particularly for our black and Hispanic students and our students with special needs — and we are working tirelessly toward that end,” said Chancellor Fariña.
According to Education Dept. officials, 23,068 black and 15,966 Hispanic students were suspended during the most recent academic year — by far the largest group.
Whites trailed at 3,306, followed by Asian students with 1,687 suspensions.
The same trends held true in 2013-14, the stats showed.
Blacks were the largest group of students to be suspended, followed by Hispanics.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said the recent drop in suspensions was a reflection of the NYPD’s effort to make schools a more constructive environment for students.
“We will continue to work with school and city officials to ensure that every student has access to a secure educational setting that fosters their academic achievements,” Bratton said in a statement.
