Attorney General James Secures Landmark Agreement to Reform Student Discipline Practices at Buffalo Public Schools

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a major settlement with Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) to strengthen student safety, protect students’ rights, and overhaul disciplinary practices to improve educational outcomes. The settlement follows an extensive investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), which found that the district’s discipline system disproportionately impacted students of color, students with disabilities, English language learners, and families with limited English proficiency. Under today’s agreement, BPS must work with OAG for four years to reform its disciplinary policies and practices, update its public discipline reporting, and ensure families are treated fairly and in their preferred language. 

“Every child deserves to feel safe and supported at school, and every family deserves to be heard and treated fairly,” said Attorney General James. “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.” 

BPS serves approximately 27,000 students, nearly 90 percent of whom are economically disadvantaged. Black and Latino students make up a significant portion of the district’s enrollment, along with thousands of students with disabilities and English language learners. Research shows that out-of-school suspensions can have long-lasting negative impacts on students’ academic success and well-being, as well as their access to critical supports such as counseling, special education services, and school-based nutrition programs. 

KEY INVESTIGATORY FINDINGS 

The OAG’s extensive findings revealed significant disparities in how student discipline was imposed at public schools in Buffalo. Black and Latino students were suspended at significantly higher rates than White students, especially for minor misconduct, such as tardiness and other low-level infractions. The district routinely issued maximum suspensions for first-time or minor offenses and imposed suspensions for conduct that cannot legally result in suspension. In some cases, Black students were more than six times more likely, and Latino students nearly four times more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions than their White counterparts.  

Students with disabilities also faced substantially higher suspension rates and lost far more instructional time than their peers without disabilities. In many cases, students with disabilities were sent home early without documentation - an illegal, informal suspension that would limit the child’s ability to access necessary due process protections. 

The OAG also identified systemic concerns affecting students’ and families’ rights, including unclear and inconsistent discipline rules, limited or ineffective alternative education options, inadequate suspension notices, disciplinary hearings that were unjust or severely limited, and insufficient language access for non-English speaking families. Multiple families reported facing retaliation for speaking out about BPS’s disciplinary system, including referrals to Child Protective Services or threats involving public services. 

OVERVIEW OF REFORMS 

Independent Monitoring and Oversight 
To ensure lasting compliance and accountability, BPS must appoint an independent monitor with expertise in school discipline and restorative practices. The monitor will oversee implementation of the agreement for at least four full school years, review district data and records, and issue regular reports evaluating the district’s progress. 

The district must also establish a Discipline Ombudsperson to serve as a point of contact for students, families, and staff to help ensure discipline policies are applied fairly and consistently. In addition, every school in the district will appoint a Student Behavior Coordinator, who will work closely with the Ombudsperson to ensure school-level compliance with the settlement and civil rights laws. 

Code of Conduct and Discipline Reform
BPS must revise its Code of Conduct to remove vague terms, clarify behavioral definitions, and establish a more just disciplinary framework that prioritizes prevention, intervention, and restorative responses in lieu of out-of-school suspensions. The district will limit the use of suspensions through third grade and revise policies related to law enforcement. The district will also update its preventative strategies to emphasize age-appropriate interventions and positive behavioral supports. In most circumstances, staff must attempt less severe interventions and restorative practices before resorting to discipline. 

The agreement also strengthens the use of Student Support Teams and related school-based interventions to ensure students who experience repeated disciplinary referrals are connected to appropriate services and supports. 

Due Process and Alternative Education
BPS must provide standardized, detailed, and timely notices for all suspensions, including meaningful explanations of the alleged conduct. The district will immediately stop its practice of sending students home early in lieu of a formal suspension. 

All students facing a long-term suspension must be given the opportunity to present their case at an impartial disciplinary hearing. The complainant, such as the staff member who initiated the disciplinary referral, must participate in live disciplinary hearings so that students can question witnesses and challenge the evidence presented against them. The district will also improve its process for short-term suspensions and track their use more consistently. 

BPS will maintain alternative education programs consistent with New York law and take steps to ensure students removed from the classroom receive meaningful instruction, including appropriate staffing and supports for students with disabilities who are suspended. 

Language Access
Within 60 days, the district will implement procedures to identify families who need language assistance. BPS must translate essential documents into the district’s most commonly spoken languages and ensure timely access to qualified interpreters for meetings, discipline proceedings, and other critical communications. The district must stop relying on students, family members, or automated and error-prone translation tools for essential information, except in limited emergency circumstances. 

Public Reporting
BPS will enhance its public discipline data dashboard to improve clarity and accuracy. The updated dashboard will include clearer definitions, more accurate calculations of discipline rates, an appropriate data lag period to ensure reliability, and will be updated when suspensions are modified or overturned. 

Training and Professional Development
The district will implement comprehensive training for staff responsible for student discipline, covering legal requirements, restorative practices, trauma-informed education, de-escalation strategies, bias awareness, and behavioral supports for students with disabilities. 

Student and Family Engagement
BPS will host forums for students, families, and staff to provide input on discipline policies and their fair implementation. The district will also use school climate surveys and other engagement tools to gather ongoing feedback and strengthen trust between schools and communities. 

“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 (NYCLU). "For years, we’ve watched the District deny students access to schoolwork and mental health support for months on end, kick out our youngest students for normal childish behaviors like whistling, violate Black and brown students’ civil rights, and push countless children into the school to prison pipeline. Students deserve the chance to learn, explore, fail, and then pick themselves back up — not constantly worry about getting suspended over the smallest infraction. 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.”

“We are grateful for the resolution that has been reached through the work of Attorney General James, as parents and students in Buffalo Public Schools who have been hurt and harmed by a system of excessive and disproportionate practices related to school suspension,” said Jessica Bauer Walker, Founder and Executive Director of CoNECT.  “We are hopeful about the opportunity to collaborate with the district as we shift to a more equitable, restorative approach.”

“This agreement is a long-overdue response to years of advocacy. It recognizes that excessive and disproportionate discipline has damaged trust, denied opportunity, and placed students at risk for far too long,” said Parent Advocate Samuel Radford III. “I want to thank the New York State Office of the Attorney General for listening to parents and community voices and for responding to long-standing concerns about student discipline. This process affirms that families deserve to be heard and that civil rights and student safety must remain central to educational policy.”

The OAG thanks the new Buffalo Schools leadership for its cooperation with OAG’s investigation and collaboration in reaching this settlement. 

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Kyle S. Rapiñan, with assistance from Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Martin of the Westchester Regional Office, Social Justice Coordinator Francisca Montana, former Assistant Attorney General Michelle González, Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Joe Malczewski, and Research Analyst Joseph Flores, under the supervision of Civil Rights Deputy Bureau Chief Travis England and Bureau Chief Sandra Park. Data Scientist Casey Marescot of the Research and Analytics Department, under the supervision of Deputy Director Gautam Sisodia and Director Victoria Khan, also assisted in the matter. The Civil Rights Bureau is part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.