Suspension and expulsion are used to discipline Black and Indigenous elementary and high school students more often than their peers - In North American elementary and high schools, Black and Indigenous students are disciplined through suspension and expulsion more often than their peers. These same groups of students are also more often exposed to adversity and trauma such as community violence, racism and inequity. As a social worker for many years in the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver, in children's mental health, child protection, school social work and in classrooms for students who have been suspended or expelled, I have seen firsthand the high level of exposure to adversity these students experience. In fact, most teachers, school administrators, school social workers and psychologists are not surprised to hear about this level of adversity. Yet these experiences are rarely acknowledged in school policy or research. Childhood adversity. Adverse experiences are situations that are harmful or threatening, or where a child does not receive the kind of protection or stimulation that encourages healthy development , such as exposure to violence or neglect.
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