Exclusionary discipline in early childhood: Moving to shared understanding and doing what works 

by Dr. Heather Googe, ICS Research Fellow

Heather Smith Googe , PhD is a Research Associate at the Yvonne & Schuyler Moore Child Development Research Center at the University of South Carolina and the Director for the South Carolina Child Care Inclusion Collaborative. She has over 15 years of experience in the field of early childhood special education and holds a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of South Carolina. 

South Carolina is home to the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children (JCLCC), a unique quasi-governmental body focused on children’s issues. JCLCC is a consortium of appointed citizens, legislators, and agency directors who study key issues facing the state’s children and promotes sound strategies for the development of children’s policy. The Committee makes recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly to use in consideration of policy, funding, and legislation to benefit our children’s future. As part of its work, JCLCC conducts public hearings across the state, inviting experts and members of the perspective to weigh in on critical issues. This blog is adapted from testimony by from Dr. Heather Googe, ICS Research Fellow and associate research professor at the child development research center in the college of education at the University of South Carolina, delivered in October of 2023. 

 

We know that young children, birth to 5-year-olds, are more likely to be suspended or expelled from preschool than children in K-12 education settings. We also know that children of color, particularly African American children, are more likely to be suspended or expelled from early childhood settings. In the most recent U.S. Office of Civil Rights data collection, young children with disabilities were 1.5 times more likely to be expelled than children without disabilities. It is important to note the limitations of this particular data set. It is data from public schools and does not include other early childhood settings like child care or private preschool and it includes mostly 4-year-olds.  

In 2018, I conducted a small study with a colleague to learn about the use of suspension and expulsion related to challenging behavior in child care settings in South Carolina. We found that 31% of center-based programs and 12% of family child care home providers reported using suspension or expulsion as a response to challenging behavior in children under 3- this is infants and toddlers. For children 3-5 years old, 54% of center-based programs and 9% of family child care home providers reported using suspension or expulsion as a result of challenging behavior.  

We are not used to hearing the terms, suspension and expulsion, in relationship to young children. In 2022, in response to a requirement for the Child Care Development Fund state plan, a cross-sector group of leaders in the early childhood field in South Carolina met to develop definitions for in-school and out-of-school suspension, and expulsion related to children 0-5. In addition, we defined social emotional development and challenging behavior.

I recommend that agencies and entities serving children 0-5 adopt these definitions and support evidence-based professional development efforts to severely limit or eliminate the use of these practices with young children. The Division for Early Care and Education (within the Department of Social Services) has already made a commitment to adopt these definitions and has invested in evidence-based professional development to support the workforce, children, and families.  You can access resources for your own work at SC Pyramid Pieces.  

These types of exclusionary practices are harmful to children and families because they disrupt learning, relationship building, and access to consistent reliable care. To borrow from the DSS campaign to promote the importance of child care… “Work doesn’t work without access to affordable, high-quality child care.”