New York Attorney General Letitia James says Buffalo Public Schools must make sweeping changes to how it disciplines students after an investigation found widespread disparities and civil rights concerns.
James announced a major settlement on Feb. 12 requiring the district to reform its disciplinary policies, strengthen due process protections and improve transparency for at least the next four years.
“Every child deserves to feel safe and supported at school, and every family deserves to be heard and treated fairly,” James said. “For too long, too many Buffalo students were denied that right. Today, we are taking a major step to bring accountability and justice to Buffalo Public Schools’ disciplinary system. My office will continue working to ensure all New York students have an equal opportunity to learn and thrive.”
Buffalo Public Schools serves about 27,000 students, nearly 90 percent of whom are economically disadvantaged. The attorney general’s office found that Black and Latino students, students with disabilities and English language learners faced disproportionate discipline.
Investigators said Black students were more than six times more likely, and Latino students nearly four times more likely, to receive out-of-school suspensions than white students in some cases. The district also issued maximum suspensions for first-time or minor offenses and suspended students for conduct that cannot legally result in suspension.
Students with disabilities faced higher suspension rates and lost more instructional time than their peers. In some cases, the district sent students home early without documentation, creating what the attorney general called illegal, informal suspensions that denied students due process protections.
The investigation also found unclear discipline rules, inadequate suspension notices, limited alternative education options and insufficient language access for families who do not speak English. Some families reported retaliation for raising concerns, including referrals to Child Protective Services.
What the agreement requires
Under the settlement, Buffalo Public Schools must appoint an independent monitor with expertise in school discipline and restorative practices. That monitor will oversee implementation of the agreement for at least four school years and issue regular progress reports.
The district must also create a Discipline Ombudsperson to serve as a point of contact for students, families and staff. Each school will designate a Student Behavior Coordinator to help ensure compliance.
The district will revise its Code of Conduct to remove vague terms and prioritize prevention and restorative responses over out-of-school suspensions. The agreement limits the use of suspensions through third grade and requires staff to attempt less severe interventions before resorting to discipline in most cases.
Buffalo schools must also provide detailed and timely notices for all suspensions and stop sending students home early instead of issuing formal suspensions. Students facing long-term suspensions must receive impartial disciplinary hearings, and complainants must participate in live hearings so students can question witnesses.
The district must maintain alternative education programs and ensure suspended students receive meaningful instruction, including appropriate supports for students with disabilities.
Within 60 days, the district must implement new procedures to identify families who need language assistance. It must translate key documents into commonly spoken languages and provide qualified interpreters for meetings and discipline proceedings.
The agreement also requires improvements to the district’s public discipline data dashboard, including clearer definitions and more accurate calculations of discipline rates.
Community response
Advocates welcomed the agreement.
“Today’s agreement is a much-needed step towards a more supportive, welcoming, and safer Buffalo Public Schools community,” said Quinn Martha, education strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “We’re hopeful that this settlement will rectify the civil rights violations rampant in BPS, keep more kids in the classroom, and focus more educators on the student-centered, restorative forms of discipline that actually work.”
Jessica Bauer Walker, founder and executive director of CoNECT, said families who experienced excessive suspensions feel heard.
“We are hopeful about the opportunity to collaborate with the district as we shift to a more equitable, restorative approach,” she said.
Parent advocate Samuel Radford III called the agreement “a long-overdue response to years of advocacy” and thanked the attorney general’s office for listening to community concerns.
The attorney general’s office said it will work with the district to monitor compliance and ensure students’ civil rights remain central to school policy moving forward.
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