Mayor de Blasio defends decision to ban suspensions of children in kindergarten through second grade

Mayor de Blasio defended his decision to ban suspensions of kids in kindergarten through second grade — a policy that has come under fire from educators and unions.

"There's a mental health challenge, a lot of times when we talk about youth. We want to deal with it. We don't think that in those early grades — kindergarten, first grade, second grade — that suspension is a productive way to deal with it," de Blasio said Thursday.

“I'm very clear as a parent, the goal is to solve the problem, not to sweep it under the rug. ... We have to get to the core of the problem, so I don't think in the youngest grades suspension does that."

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mayor-de-blasio-defends-school-suspension-ban-article-1.2783266