DPS Rewrites Discipline Policies to Keep Students

CBS4 NewsJanuary 9, 2010CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE NEWS COVERAGE.
Denver Public Schools is rewriting its discipline policies in an effort to keep more students in school.
The move is to change the zero-tolerance practices that many say push low-income students of color to drop out and into the juvenile justice system.
This week student leaders with the group Padres & Jovenes Unidos met at North High School. They were working on a plan to hold DPS accountable for implementing the new policies.
Students say the changes will make a difference in their school.
"They used to suspend people for ditching, which didn't make any sense to me," student Abel Estrada said. "People weren't in school, so they suspended them? But now it's a lot better. We can get some learning done."
"We actually have studies that show that students who have been suspended multiple times end up not coming back to school," student Dylan Torres said.
The drum corps performed during the presentation to show involvement is one way to stay in school.