Attorney General Finds Disparities in Buffalo Public Schools Suspensions, Settlement Reached

Niagara Action
7 hours ago
3 min read

An investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Office concluded that students of color and students with disabilities in Buffalo Public Schools were suspended at significantly higher rates than their white peers and students without disabilities.

The findings stem from a review of district discipline data from 2019 through 2023 school, excluding the COVID-19-impacted year. According to the Attorney General’s report, in the 2022–2023 academic year, Black secondary students were more than six times as likely to receive out-of-school suspensions as white secondary students. Latino secondary students were nearly four times as likely to be suspended as their white counterparts.

Investigators for the AG’s office found that disparities extended beyond serious misconduct. Black and Latino students were suspended out of school for relatively minor, non-violent issues, including absences, cutting class, elopement (defined as leaving a designated school area without permission) and tardiness, at higher rates than white students.

The report also analyzed the average number of instructional days lost per student during the review period. Black students lost an average of 3.85 days per student. Latino students lost 2.23 days per student. White students lost 0.79 days per student. Students with disabilities lost an average of 4.33 days per student, more than twice the amount of instructional time lost by students without disabilities.

Looking at the cumulative totals during the investigation period, Black students accounted for 92,249 out-of-school suspension days. Latino students accounted for 25,247 suspension days. White students accounted for 11,553 days. Students with disabilities represented 50,079 suspension days during that timeframe. In total, 138,970 out-of-school suspension days were administered between 2018 and 2024.

Enrollment data cited in the report shows that Black students make up approximately 42% of the district’s student population. Latino students account for 21%, while Asian or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander students represent 15%. White students comprise about 17% of the student body.

Beyond statistical disparities, the Attorney General’s Office found due process concerns in how discipline was carried out. The report states that students with disabilities lost substantially more instructional time than their peers without disabilities. It also found that, in numerous cases, students with disabilities were sent home early without formal documentation, characterizing those removals as illegal informal suspensions that limited access to required due process protections.

As part of a resolution with the Attorney General’s Office, Buffalo Public Schools has entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance agreement. Under the terms of the settlement, the district must appoint both an independent monitor and an ombudsperson for a four-year period to oversee compliance and reform efforts.

A district spokesperson made the following public statement in response to the AG’s findings becoming public:

"The approval of the Assurance of Discontinuance agreement between the Buffalo Public Schools and the New York State Attorney General's Office not only recognizes the steps already taken by the district to reduce suspensions, but it will further ensure the district maintains an educational environment that is conducive to learning for all students by reducing the number of suspensions through the use of restorative practices and other positive interventions. The Buffalo Public Schools remain committed to being a district that embraces restorative practices and works to keep more of its students in the classroom."

The agreement formalizes oversight of the district’s disciplinary practices and is intended to address both the documented disparities and procedural deficiencies identified in the state’s investigation.