Nearly 15 years after student discipline reform, school suspensions in Mass. are falling. Are emergency removals taking their place?
Out-of-school suspensions decreased between 2018 and 2025 in schools across the state, while a different kind of disciplinary action has risen sharply since the pandemic
In 2012, after child advocates spent years trying to reduce punitive suspensions in schools, Massachusetts passed sweeping education reforms, kickstarting a longstanding policy shift away from exclusionary discipline methods. Nearly 15 years later, out-of-school suspensions are falling, but emergency removals — a mechanism allowing administrators to immediately remove a student from school due to severe behavior for up to two days — have increased.
THE CODCAST
What it’s going to take to keep New England’s lights on
Rising power demand, ambitious clean energy targets, the rise of artificial intelligence, and skyrocketing electricity prices are colliding to create a profound moment of disruption in New England’s ability to plan for the needs of the future while keeping the lights on today. Dr. Vamsi Chadalavada, president and CEO of ISO New England, the operator of the region’s energy system, joins CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jordan Wolman to discuss how he’s balancing it all.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Commonwealth in depth
With public health at stake, many Boston hospitals struggle to meet the city’s air pollution goals
Hospitals in Boston consume far more energy than other buildings, and many rely on fossil-fuel–powered centralized energy systems, making it challenging for the city to meet its 2050 net-zero emissions goal
BY THE NUMBERS
Yet again, legislative competition in Massachusetts will be woeful
Three in five House, Senate races will feature only one candidate on the ballot
From the Archives
On Heritage Road
In the heart of suburbia, anxieties about the new economy
