The Wake County Public School System is looking into a proposal that would allow families to appeal short-term suspensions.
The proposal comes from the Education Justice Alliance, a Wake-based nonprofit focused on equity and reducing student interaction with law enforcement.
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Several EJA representatives and parent organizers asked the school board Tuesday night to create the appeals process.
They said an appeals process would give parents more information and give school administrators more perspective on the student.
"When a child is suspended even for just a few days, it affects more than just their schedule; it affects their confidence, their learning and their sense of belonging in the school," said Tametris Morrison, a Wake parent and EJA parent organizer.
Others said parents often find the reasoning behind suspensions unclear. An appeals process would help the short-term suspension process be more consistent, improve communication and reduce unnecessary suspensions, they said.
Male students and students of color are suspended at disproportionately higher rates, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction data shows.
Wake issued more than 13,000 short-term suspensions during the 2024-25 school year, the last year of available data. Most were issued to Black students. Nearly three-quarters were issued to male students.
A district spokesman said Wednesday that the district is looking into the proposal and plans a presentation on the topic to the school board Oct. 6 during a work session.
Short-term suspensions are anything less than 10 days. State law doesn't require an appeals process for those, and Wake doesn't have one.
State law only requires a hearing process to be available to families when their student is suspended long-term, or for at least 10 days.