Giving Compass' Take:

• Educators voice concerns and support for a bill in Colorado that aims to limit the number of early childhood suspensions and expulsions.

• What are the potential impacts of this legislation on educators? How can donors provide assistance in early childhood discipline?

• Read about how some educators are implementing restorative discipline practices in schools.

If Colorado lawmakers approve a bill limiting suspensions and expulsions of young children, one elementary school teacher said she’d consider leaving the profession.

“I am an educator. Stop putting all this other stuff in my job. That is what is wrong with teaching. I can’t be a counselor and educator and babysitter and nurse to all my students and do anything well,” she wrote in response to a Chalkbeat survey on early childhood discipline.

The teacher was among more than two dozen educators who responded to the survey, which asked about the potential effects of the proposed legislation, the reasons young students in their schools get suspended, and what tools would help them handle children’s challenging behavior. The survey did not require respondents to provide their full names.

The bill — House Bill 19-1194 — restricts the reasons preschool through second grade students can be given out-of school suspensions and expulsions, allowing them only when students bring weapons or drugs to school, or if children pose a health or safety threat. Out-of-school suspensions would be limited to three days unless a district administrator deems a longer removal necessary to resolve a safety threat.

While most educators surveyed expressed major concerns about the bill, a handful praised the legislation.

Supporters of less punitive discipline argue that sending kids home from school for acting out doesn’t help them learn appropriate behavior, increases the likelihood they’ll be suspended again, and disproportionately affects boys, children of color, and students with disabilities.

Many respondents called for more support for teachers, in the form of trainings, greater attention to teacher wellness, and the addition of school-based psychologists, counselors, and social workers. Others advocated for smaller class sizes and more services to help parents address children’s behavior.

Read the full article about early childhood suspension bill by Ann Schimke at Chalkbeat.