EOY Report

ASSURANCE OF DISCONTINUANCE
END OF YEAR REPORT
Office of the Attorney General
Not for Public Release
SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR
Prepared by Dr. Cheryl Atkinson, Independent Monitor
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Overview _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1
Section One: 2017-2018 Priority Areas ________________________________________________________________ 3
Section Two: Comprehensive Status of AOD __________________________________________________________ 18
Summary and Recommendations _____________________________________________________________________ 36
Attachments/Appendices ____________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.
REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

2017-2018 END OF YEAR REPORT
Overview
The 2017-2018 school year marked the fourth of a four-year implementation
period for the Assurance of Discontinuance (AOD). The AOD outlines corrective steps the
Syracuse City School District (the District) will take regarding the findings of a 2013
investigation by the New York State Attorney General’s Office (OAG) that examined the
District’s compliance pertaining to:
 providing students and/or parents with notice of the charges and an opportunity
to be heard regarding the issuance of a suspension
 protecting students with disabilities from discipline on the basis of their disability
 applying suspensions in a manner that did not have a disparate impact on black
and Hispanic students
The AOD outlines corrective steps the Syracuse City School District has agreed to take
regarding the findings of the 2013 investigation by the OAG. The AOD consists of 17 parts
and 101 provisions of which, 13 parts and 59 provisions that specify requirements the
District must take to:
 ensure that the educational environment is safe and conducive to learning

 reduce the total number of suspensions and the amount of time students spend
out of the classroom while serving suspensions
 address misbehavior through restorative justice practices.
The AOD is broken into seventeen parts. Parts one through four document definitions,
findings of the investigation and part seventeen the scope, jurisdiction, and enforcement
provisions therefore are not areas reported in this status update. Parts five through
sixteen of the assurance outline the provisions the District is required to implement. The
Independent Monitor has the responsibility to monitor the District’s progress and
compliance with these components of the assurance.
This end-of-year (EOY) report provides a status update of the District’s activities
specific to the AOD for the 2017-2018 school year. The report is organized into five
sections. In addition to this Overview, the other four sections are:
Page 1 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

 An update on the status of implementation of the seven priority areas for

the 2017-2018 school year
 A brief update of each part and corresponding provisions for the entire
AOD
 A summary section with overall observations and recommendations.
 Appendices with all pertinent supporting documentation
Throughout the monitoring period and in preparation for this report, discussions
about findings and documented evidence or the absence of evidence/data were reviewed
with the District for completeness and accuracy. Monitoring activities also included
investment into building greater capacity for the District to engage in self-monitoring
protocols to better guide implementation efforts for all provisions of the AOD. The
summary section of this report provides concluding observations and recommendations.

Section One: 2017-2018 Priority Areas

At the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, the District and the OAG agreed to seven
priority focus areas for the 2017-2018 school year. These priority focus areas served as a
framework for monitoring efforts this school year and the status of implementation are
described below.
PRIORITY AREA 1: PREVENTATIVE STRATEGIES PLAN ACROSS SCHOOLS (PROVISIONS 38 A-D).

Every school completed a Preventative Strategies Plan (PSP) for the 2017-2018 school
year. This year the PSP data monitoring was focused on recidivism pertaining to
referrals, in-school and out of school suspension. The tables below provide an overview
of the type of data that the District monitors weekly.
Table 1A: Total Number of Referrals Assigned by Student by Race/Ethnicity.
2014 2018
All All
Referrals Black Hispanic White Total Black Hispanic White Total
Other Other
0 6,812 2,072 4,085 2,462 15,431 7,689 2,263 4,038 2,772 16,762
1 to 5 2,799 597 814 288 4,498 1,995 412 487 275 3,169
6 to 10 588 102 160 41 891 296 67 67 32 462
11 to 15 243 53 60 379 151 212
16 to 20 110 43 178 99 133
21 to 25 95 143 48 63
26+ 80 44 149 53 71
Table 1B: Total Number of Referrals Assigned for Students with Disabilities (SWD) and
General Education Students.
2014 2018
Referrals SWD Gen Ed Total SWD Gen Ed Total
0 2,611 12,820 15,431 2,847 13,852 16,699
1 to 5 1,141 3,357 4,498 718 2,511 3,229
6 to 10 291 600 891 118 347 465
11 to 15 148 231 379 53 159 212
16 to 20 67 111 178 37 96 133
21 to 25 51 92 143 48 63
26+ 59 90 149 49 71

Table 2A: Total Number of ISS Assigned by student.
2014 2018
ISS All All
Black Hispanic White Total Black Hispanic White Total
Assigned Other Other
0 8,393 2,449 4,659 2,641 18,142 9,220 2,581 4,425 2,987 19,213
1 to 5 2,040 370 504 183 3,097 1012 189 199 120 1,520
6 to 10 216 41 50 324 78 110
11 to 15 56 75
16 to 20 0 0 0
21 to 25 0 0 0 0 0
26+ 0 0 0 0 0 0
Table 2B: Total Number of ISS Assigned for Students With Disabilities (SWD) and General
Education Students.
2014 2018
ISS Assigned SWD Gen Ed Total SWD Gen Ed Total
0 3,407 14,735 18,142 3,515 15,687 19,202
1 to 5 835 2,262 3,097 281 1,250 1,531
6 to 10 94 230 324 99 110
11 to 15 50 75
16 to 20
21 to 25 0
26+ 0 0 0
Table 3A: Total Number of OSS Assigned by Student.
2014 2018
OSS All All
Black Hispanic White Total Black Hispanic White Total
Assigned Other Other
0 8,436 2,445 4,649 2,680 18,210 9,002 2,537 4,339 2,968 18,846
1 to 5 2,014 379 500 143 3,036 1,198 242 277 139 1,856
6 to 10 234 42 57 351 110 146
11 to 15 37 62 0
16 to 20 0 0 0 0 0
21 to 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Table 3B: Total Number of OSS Assigned for Students with Disabilities (SWD)
and General Education Students.
2014 2018
OSS Assigned SWD Gen Ed Total SWD Gen Ed Total
0 3,282 14,928 18,210 3,303 15,503 18,806
1 to 5 912 2,124 3,036 460 1,436 1,896
6 to 10 135 216 351 44 102 146
11 to 15 34 28 62
16 to 20 0
21 to 25 0 0 0 0
Through the review of these tables of data, the District has been able to identify which
schools need additional assistance with the implementation of interventions and more
specifically, which students need additional support.
PRIORITY AREA 2: BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION CENTERS AND IN-SCHOOL SUSPENSION

(PROVISION 38C)
The District continues to implement an electronic data collection interface with the
distinct purpose of collecting, storing, and monitoring Behavior Intervention Centers
(BIC) related data and keeping it separate from in-school suspension data.
This new BIC data collection system functions as a dashboard that captures detailed
information on specific students, as well as, trends. Schools and the district are now able
to disaggregate data specific to a student and look at school-wide data.
In Table 4, data showing there have been approximately 36,000 BIC visits across the
district during the 2018 school year and the duration of these visits on average is 31
minutes which is within the guidelines of approximately 30 minutes per visit.
Table 4: BIC Visits and Duration of Stay
Count Percent of District Average Length of

Visits Time
Elementary 8,305 23% 35 min
K-8 8,790 24% 35 min
Middle 11,069 31% 28 min
High 7,861 22% 26 min

The number of elementary students visiting BIC rooms is slightly lower than students at
the middle and high school levels, but they are spending a longer period of time in the
behavior intervention centers compared to students at the middle and high school levels.
In essence fewer students come to BIC in elementary schools but stay longer.
The District has ensured that the data collection for BIC and ISS is distinctly different.
The BIC is an intervention meant to get students back on track without necessitating
disciplinary action, whereas ISS is a disciplinary action and requires due process.
Table 5 provides the number of students who have ISS compared to pre-AOD. There has
been a reduction in the number of students who are receiving ISS by 53% pre-AOD to
YTD.
Table 5: Number and Percent of Individual Students Assigned ISS by Subgroup

Category All Students Black Hispanic White Other SWD
2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018
Enrollment 21,669 20,872 10,727 10,331 2,872 2,792 5,226 4,633 2,844 3,116 4,368 3,810
ISS # 3,527 1,659 2,334 1,111 423 211 567 208 203 129 961 295
ISS % 16% 8% 22% 11% 15% 8% 11% 4% 7% 4% 22% 8%
PRIORITY AREA 3: LOCAL MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION REVIEW (MDR) PROCESS-SCHOOL

LEVEL (PROVISION 41)
A significant decrease in the number of hearings held at the district level has enabled the
District to utilize advocates who were previously supporting district-level MDR hearings
to support those at the school level. These advocates are now assigned on an as needed
basis to support the local MDR parent participation and communication process.
In Figures 1-3 below, data for the 2017-2018 school year is compared to 2016-2017 as
this was the first year this data was being monitored at the school level. In Figure 1, the
overall number of school level MDRs has decreased from 300 to 248. Along with the
decreases in the number of school based MDRs, Figure 2 shows that the number and
percentage of nexus found has also decreased. As a result of the redeployment of
resources, the level of parent participation at the school level MDR process increased
from 27% YTD last year to 43% this school year (Figure 3).

Figure 1: The Number of School Level MDRs Held 2016-2017 Compared to 2017-2018
School Level MDRs Held

350
300
300
248
250
200
150
100
50
0
2016-2017 2017-2018
Figure 2: The Number of School Level MDRs Held Where a Nexus was Found
2016-2017 Compared to 2017-2018
57,
Nexus Found
60 (19%)
50
40 31,
(13%)
30
20
10
0
2016-2017 2017-2018

Figure 3: The Number and Percent of Parents Participating in School Level MDRs
2016-2017 Compared to 2017-2018
Parent Participation
120 107,
(43%)
100
81,
(27%)
80
60
40
20
0
2016-2017 2017-2018
PRIORITY AREA 4: TWILIGHT ACADEMY (PROVISIONS 45E)

The Twilight Program was originally established to get students who were off-track for
graduation a means to get back on track. The District recognized that there were
inconsistent criteria and procedures regarding the Twilight Program. The District
conducted a school by school, student by student, transcript audit and program review of
all students who were previously enrolled in the Twilight Program. During the audit
meetings, the District examined attendance, length of time in the program, credit
accumulation and appropriate next steps for graduation.

Table 6: Twilight Audit Results
Current Building for Currently Active

Current Status
Students
Graduated
2017 Active Active Active at
Dropout
Transfer
Other*
Active
Individual
Twilight at Day Johnson Incarcerated
Students
School Twilight School Center
Corcoran 169 85 60 39 34
Fowler 44 35
Henninger 313 153 53 85 103 43
Nottingham 160 100 80
PSLA 66 37 29
Grand
752 380 77 225 67 251 103
Total
There was a total of 752 students who were reviewed (Table 6). You can see the
breakdown of the detail that actually went into and came from the audit.
The data showed a need to establish consistent guidelines, procedures for placement,
transition planning and to eliminate students being assigned to the Twilight program
based on behavior. To address this issue, the District adjusted the decision-making
process for students into the Twilight Program. The new process required all Twilight
referrals to go through the Alternative Placement Committee (APC). The table below
(Table 7) outlines the referrals into the Twilight Program for the 2017-2018 school year
as well as credit and attendance status data. To date there have been 301 students
referred and 161 students admitted to the Twilight Program through the APC.

Table 7: 2017-2018 Twilight Referral and Placement Through APC
Average # Credits
Cohort Students Students %
Freshman Credits earned
On Time Referred Admitted Attendance
Year when in
Graduation to Twilight to Twilight in Twilight
Admitted Twilight
2011-2012 2015 15.167 50% 0.50
2012-2013 2016 7.850 55% 1.00
2013-2014 2017 89 35 5.300 56% 1.69
2014-2015 2018 111 73 3.205 60% 1.56
2015-2016 2019 65 38 1.013 69% 0.80
2016-2017 2020 0.500 17% 0.00
Grand Total 301 161 3.621 61% 1.33
Table 8 shows those students who were already enrolled in the Twilight program prior to
the APC process being implemented. To date, there are 251 students enrolled.
Table 8: Students in Twilight Previously Enrolled Before APC Process
Average #
Cohort on
Freshman Average Credits % Attendance Credits earned
Time Total Students
Year when Admitted (2017-2018) in Twilight
Graduation
(Cumulative)
2011-2012 2015 5.50 56% 12.86
2012-2013 2016 2.76 53% 10.77
2013-2014 2017 76 3.17 60% 7.21
2014-2015 2018 90 0.74 60% 4.66
2015-2016 2019 57 0.39 65% 2.91
2016-2017 2020 - - - -
Grand Total 251 1.71 60% 5.76

The distribution of Twilight enrollment by school is shown in Table 9 below. The largest
number of students participating in Twilight are located at Henninger.
Table 9: 2017-2018 Twilight Enrollment by School
Enrollment Location # of Students Enrolled per site

Twilight Academy@ Corcoran 63
Twilight Academy@ Henninger 129
Twilight Academy@ Nottingham 111
Twilight Academy@ PSLA 43
Total Twilight Students 346
PRIORITY AREA 5: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, (PROVISIONS 59 & 61)

The AOD requires that 100% of the teachers be trained in the following areas:
 Code of Conduct
 Culturally Responsive Education
 Restorative Practices
 Classroom Management
In Figure 4, the District has reported required staff training percentages of 92%. The
District continues to work through data collection challenges regarding the
implementation of the new electronic system, and it is likely that the percent trained is
higher.
Figure 4: Percent of Staff Trained in Each AOD Area

PRIORITY AREA 6: CLIMATE SURVEY (PROVISION 64)

The District is required to give a climate survey to gain feedback from parents, students
and teachers around the following key areas: relationships, fairness, clarity of rules,
behavioral expectations, and school safety. The number of questions that have been
asked of each survey group addressing the AOD related areas are outlined in Table 10
below.
Table 10: AOD Survey Questions Blue Print
Survey Category Teacher/Staff Parent/Family Student

Relationships 13 8 10
Teacher/Staff-Student 7 - 6
Teacher/Staff-Parent 6 8 -
Student-Student - - 4
Fairness, Clarity of
Rules, Behavioral 6 6 7
Expectations
School Safety 7 6 7
Total Questions 26 20 24
In addition to the AOD specified questions that were required to be in the climate survey,
the District included additional questions to expand understanding for factors to help
establish a wider context of what is happening in schools. Some of these categories
overlap those required by the AOD (Table 11.)
Table 11: Survey Supplemental Questions Blue Print
Survey Category Teacher/Staff Parent/Family Student

Responsibilities 11 11 -
School Climate, Sense of Belonging 9 6 8
Academic Rigor, Teaching Practices,
6 - 11
Value of School
School Leadership and Opportunities 8 4 -
Total Questions 34 21 19

Figure 5 depicts the return rates and totals for each group surveyed by the District. The
parent survey return rate increased 5.5 percentage points from 8.5% to 14% for this
school year. This increase in the parent participation is notable and shows considerable
effort to double the level of parent participation in one year. The parent surveys were
administered in paper format and electronically. Response rates for students remained
the same. Response rates for teachers could not be compared as the method of counting
staff who took the survey was different in 2017-2018 compared to 2016-2017. More staff
categories were included in this year’s survey process given that it was opened to all staff
rather than just teachers and teacher assistants (as it was in 2016-2017).
Figure 5: Response Rates by Groups Surveyed
It should be noted that the responses to the parent survey reflected the demographic
make-up of the district as depicted in Figure 6. Furthermore, responses to the survey
included representation of each of the six major languages in the District: English, Somali,
Nepali, Spanish, Arabic, and Karim.

Figure 6: Response Rate by Enrollment
Figure 7 depicts a snapshot of how the questions are worded and how the results are
reported. From this the District will develop its action plan. Schools have also received
school level reports and will be generating their own action plans based on school
specific results.
Figure 7: Sample Wording of Survey Questions and Responses
The next three tables will provide highlights for each group surveyed organized by the
survey criteria category outlined in the AOD. After reviewing data with District staff,
there were clear “strengths” or “glows” and areas that can be improved or “grows.”

Table 12: Survey Highlights based on Relationship Survey Area
Survey Area: Relationships

Glows Grows
Students do not feel as strongly
Students feel that they are good at developing
Students about “building level”
relationships with one another in classes
relationships
There was an overwhelming response that teachers The lowest scored item was
Parents are friendly and respectful to parents, and fair to related to in-person meeting
their children with teachers
Staff report having more conversations with Staff find it difficult to
Staff students related to their interests and are holding communicate with students’
students to higher expectations families
Under the relationship category, students are experiencing greater confidence in

developing good relationships with other students in their same classes, and less
confident about relationships formed with other students in the building. When they are
in smaller more intimate settings they feel better then when seeing themselves as part of
the school community.
Table 13: Survey Highlights based on School Safety Survey Area
Survey Area: School Safety

Glows Grows
Over 60% of students feel they can get help 75% of students indicate that bullying
Students
from an adult if they are bullied is a concern
About 75% of parents feel that they and their More than 66% of parents feel that
Parents
children are safe in school bullying is a problem for students
About 45% of staff also recognized
More than 80% of staff believe they are
bullying as a problem
Staff available to help students who have been
60% of staff report that fighting is an
bullied
issue in their school
In the area of school safety, the majority in all groups feel safe within their schools a true
glow. An overarching concern about bullying and the effects of bullying on students is an
area to grow.

Table 14: Survey Highlights based Fairness, Clarity of Rules

and Behavioral Expectations Survey Area
Survey Area: Fairness, clarity of rules

and behavioral expectations
Glows Grows
Over 80% of all groups responded that About 50% of the students and about
Students,
they understand the behavioral one-third of parents and staff replied
Parents and
expectations in school and what happens that they do not believe the rules are
Staff
if the rules are broken applied fairly to all students
There is an overwhelming response to fairness. It was really interesting as I reviewed all

of the AOD areas as this stood out as the overarching viewpoint as related to the AOD for
all groups.
All three groups responded that they understand behavior expectations and what would
happen if the rules are broken. This shows the successful efforts the District has made in
creating a coherent code of conduct, communicating the Code of Conduct and providing
professional development. It was also telling that all three groups believed the rules are
not applied in an equitable fashion to all students. This should create pause and the
District should think about how it wants to approach this viewpoint moving forward.
Table 15: Additional Survey Insights
Additional Insights
 75% of students feel that the behavior of their peers impacts their learning
 Both parents and staff indicated that they believe parents are responsible for helping
students deal with their emotions appropriately
 Over 70% of staff indicated that school leaders are clear on their goals, supportive and
responsive to feedback
 More than 80% of parents believe that their child’s school is welcoming and provides
opportunities to be involved
 Nearly two-thirds of parents indicate that their child’s school is sensitive to their child’s
cultural background
The District went above and beyond to meet the objectives of the AOD requirements for
administering a climate survey. In Table 15, additional insights are noted.

PRIORITY AREA 7: DATA REVIEW MEETINGS (PROVISION 79B)

The Data Review meeting process is outlined in Figure 8. Once data memos are sent to
schools, the school teams work on a plan of action to bring to the district sponsored
school-STAT meetings. Following the STAT meetings, school personnel have one week to
communicate the findings to the entire school staff.
Figure 8: Data Review Meetings Process and Dates of Implementation
School
Stat Memo School STAT Data Shared
Team
Distributed Reviews With Staff
Nov. 8 Nov. 8-15 Nov. 15-17 Nov. 16-Dec. 1
Feb. 2 Feb. 2-8 Feb. 8 Feb. 8-15
May 4 May 4-8 May 8-10 May 10-18

Section Two: Comprehensive Status of AOD

The chart below outlines the AOD part and specific provisions, the description of the
provision, status of the provision, and a brief explanation with reference to any necessary
documents that assist in providing evidence of compliance. Where applicable,
evidence/documents outlined in this section can be found in the appendices.
AOD Description 2017-2018 Explanation/Evidence

Part/# Status
30 The District shall Compliant The District has continually
retain an retained an independent
Independent Monitor monitor since 2014. Evidence
of this can be found in the
contracts executed between
the District and independent
monitor.
31 The Independent Compliant The Independent Monitor has
Monitor will create provided the District with a
and implement a monitoring plan. The
monitoring plan that monitoring plan for the 2017-
will outline the areas 2018 school year can be found
of focus for in Appendix 1.1
monitoring in a given
school year.
32 The Independent Compliant The Independent Monitor
Monitor will have maintained continual contact
regular points of with the OAG. Evidence
contact with the OAG includes monthly updates, and
conference calls regarding
progress reports as outlined in
the monitoring plan, and this
end of year report.
33 The District shall Compliant The District appointed an

appoint an Ombuds Ombuds Officer on November
Officer 10, 2016. This represents the
replacement of the first


Part/# Status
Ombuds Officer who was
initially hired in April 2015.
34 The District shall Compliant The District identified a COSB
appoint Coordinators for each school. The listing of
of Student Behavior COSBs for each school can be
(COSB) for each found in the Appendix 1.2.
school.
35 The District shall Compliant The district has posted and
post and retain staff has retained staff budgeted for
sufficient to analyze the data analytic work
district-wide data required by the AOD. The
including data listing of staff for these
pursuant to part positions can be found in
fourteen of the AOD. Appendix 1.3.
36 Obligation to Remain Compliant As is evident by provisions 20-

in Effect for Four 35, the District continues to be
Years compliant to fulfilling part six
of the AOD.
37 The District shall Compliant PSPs have been filed by each
create and school to the Ombudsman.
implement The guidance document and
Preventative template for the 2017-2018
Strategies Plans school year can be found in
(PSP) Appendix 1.4.
38A The District shall Compliant The District has received PSPs
implement a from each school for the 2017-
requirement that 2018 school year. The District
staff utilize a range of has outlined in its code of
corrective measures. conduct that is approved by
the Board and set into policy.
38B The District will have Compliant The District has provided staff
in place a system for through the COC and training
positively for targeted strategies that
encouraging and encouraged and reinforced
reinforcing positive student behavior. This


Part/# Status
appropriate student is indicated in the PSP which
behavior. is part of the school
improvement plan.
38C To address students Compliant In Appendix 1.2 there is a
who are struggling listing of the district provided
through continuous resources schools use as
referrals for supports for students who
behavior, the District continuously struggle.
will provide one or
more school-based
supports
38D The District shall Compliant The District does require all
require all staff to staff to attend the training and
attend annual is working on capturing staff
training participation electronically.
The memo in Appendix 1.5
clearly requires 12-month
employees, specifically
administrators, to attend AOD
specific training. The District
continues to work on
capturing the electronic data
on staff participation. As
depicted in figure 4, in priority
area five above, the District
has seen an average
participation of 92%.
38E The Ombudsman, in Compliant COSB meetings were focused
consultation with the on PSP data on recidivism
superintendent shall regarding referrals, ISS, and
create a reporting OSS as described in section 1,
schedule with each priority area 1 of this
COSB to update the document. Additional
progress of information can be found in
implementation of Appendix 1.6
the PSP at each
school. The
Ombudsman will


Part/# Status
then produce a
report about school-
based progress.
38F Amendments to the Compliant For the 2017-2018 school year

structure of the PSP the PSP and the School
can be made with the Improvement Plan were
approval of the combined into one document.
superintendent and Documentation of these
the ombudsman. changes can be found in
Appendix 1.7.
39 The Independent Compliant Documentation of site visits

Monitor shall review that were conducted by the
information and independent monitor for the
reports or make 2017-2018 school year can be
school visits found in Appendix 1.8.
pursuant to Part 7 of
the AOD. Site visits
shall be documented
and submitted to the
OAG and district.
40 The District shall Compliant The District has contracted
insure that an with a community
adequate number of organization (CCA) and has
employees and/or also hired four staff (family
independent facilitators) to provide
contractors are students facing suspensions
providing advocacy with advocacy services. A copy
services for students of this contract can be found
facing suspensions. in Appendix 1.9
The District recognized shifted

resources from the district
hearing level to the school


Part/# Status
level in order to address
advocacy needs pertaining to
short-term suspensions. The
focus was on parental
involvement. Parent advocates
are assigned based on need.
41 The Ombudsman Complaint The summary evaluative data
shall evaluate the regarding impartial
performance of hearings/MDRs is derived
impartial hearing from the electronic survey
officers and district parents complete upon the
employees conclusion of a hearing/MDR.
responsible for The procedural safeguards
conducting MDRs. and those that conduct MDRs
at the school level are
monitored daily and
safeguards are in place that
quickly pinpoint, or highlight
needs and those needs are
addressed immediately.
Documentation of processes
can be found in Appendix
1.10
42-44 The District shall Compliant A meeting of the
revise and submit a superintendent, COO, and COS
Code of Conduct for to review the proposed
approval by the OAG. changes will be scheduled
Annually the District once the attached timeline is
may update and executed. This timeline can be
recommended found in Appendix 1.11
changes. The code
must implement a
progressive
discipline process.


Part/# Status
45 A-D The District shall Compliant The District has submitted
develop policies and guidelines and has an
procedures for the Alternative Placement
placement of Committee (APC). A copy of
students in these guidelines, and minutes
Alternative from APC meetings, can be
Education found in Appendix 1.12
Placements
45 E Prompt transition of Compliant The guidelines and transition

students to home to and from the Twilight
school environments program can be found in
Appendix 1.12.
46 The District shall Compliant The District has implemented
implement due due process procedures for
process policies for long-term suspensions
notice of hearing for requiring a hearing. The
short- and long-term District also has procedures to
suspension be followed at the school level.
47 School Resource Compliant The District has a signed
Officers: District agreement with City of
Policies, Job Syracuse as related to this
Description, Arrest provision.
Reports/Involvemen Appendix 1.13
t of Law Enforcement
48 Amendments to the Compliant No changes to the Code of
Code of Conduct Conduct were recommended
Regarding SRO regarding SROs for 2018-2019
Activities school year.
49-50 Informational Compliant The District has instituted an
Program for Parents informational program
of Code of Conduct pertaining to the Code of
Conduct for parents. A
contractor continues to be
retained to provide this
service.
See Appendix 1.14


Part/# Status
51 Documentation of Compliant As referenced in provision 50,
Elements within a contractor facilitates this
Parent Informational process. Materials related to
Program (Related to the curriculum used in the
AOD #50) informational program can be
found on the District’s website
at
http://www.syracusecityscho
ols.com/districtpage.cfm?page
id=984
52 The District shall Compliant The District has instituted an

provide an informational program
informational pertaining to the Code of
program for students Conduct for students. A
pertaining to the contractor continues to be
Code of Conduct. retained to provide this
service. Documentation
related to the informational
lessons and materials can be
found on the District’s website
at
id=1925
Every teacher in the District

teaches the Code of Conduct,
when this is done, the teacher
signs off on a form and
submits to the principal. The
principal then submits an
electronic verification that all
teachers completed lessons,
and this is sent to the COO.


Part/# Status
53 The District shall Compliant The District has posted the
publish the Code of Code of Conduct on its website
Conduct (hard copy and can be found at this link:
to all middle and http://www.syracusecityscho
secondary families, ols.com/tfiles/folder984/Cod
and online) e%20of%20Conduct%20201
7-18.pdf
54 The District shall Compliant In addition to the Code of
provide resources to Conduct document itself, the
help families and District has created a Quick
parents understand Reference Guide for the Code.
the Code of Conduct A copy of this reference guide
and assign parent can be found at
coordinators to each http://www.syracusecityscho
school. ols.com/tfiles/folder984/Quic
k%20Reference%2017-18.pdf
The District has two parent
coordinators each of whom
are assigned schools/regions
of the city.
id=596
Online materials for parents

(look at the far right of the
webpage)
id=984
Monitor may review works closely with the District
any resources to review materials related to
pursuant to this part this Part. The Independent
of the AOD. monitor provides the OAG
updates monthly regarding
monitoring activities.


Part/# Status
56 Code of Conduct will Compliant The District continues to
Remain for Four implement the Code of
Years Conduct. Evidence to this fact
is referenced in provisions 42-
44.
57 The District shall Compliant The COO along with director
develop an annual of student discipline
training program for conducted the COC training
staff on the Code of and information sessions at
Conduct every school at the beginning
of the 2017-2018 school year.
This training covered the
general COC content as well as
pertinent updates.
These training materials can
be found in Appendix 1.15.
58 Annually, all Compliant This provision aligns with

administrators and provision 57. The District has
relevant staff will implemented training for staff.
receive training on Most of this training occurred
the Code of Conduct. during in-service days at the
beginning of the 2017-2018
school year. Training is
facilitated by school
administrators.
59 All teachers will Compliant The District has shown

attend at least one evidence of implementation.
training on As depicted in figure 4,
classroom priority area 5, the District has
management, seen an updated trend of
rewarding positive participation in AOD areas
behavior, cultural with an average participation
competence and of 92%.


Part/# Status
culturally relevant
pedagogy
60 Providing employees Compliant For any training in the District

with contact an evaluation survey is given
information for the out that includes the name of
Ombudsman the Chief Ombuds Officer and
what the Ombuds Officer does
and contact information.
61 Maintaining Compliant The District is refining its
attendance at each process for taking attendance
PD session of staff at professional
development offerings moving
from a one electronic system
to another electronic system.
Given that the District assures
that 100% of staff have
attended training the
electronic system is yielding a
value of 92%. The District is
attributing the difference off
8% to a conversion error rate
when moving from one system
to another. Further detail is
provided in priority area five.

Monitor may review works closely with the District
any resources to review materials related to
pursuant to this part this Part. The Independent
of the AOD. Monitor provides the OAG
updates monthly regarding
monitoring activities.
63 Training will remain Compliant The District continues to
in effect for at least implement staff training
four years. requirements of the AOD.


Part/# Status
Evidence to this fact is
referenced in provisions 57-
61.
64 The District shall Compliant The District has reported that
annually administer they have conduct the surveys
a climate survey for and have the necessary data to
staff and students. complete the report. A memo
The Ombuds Officer regarding the climate surveys
will submit a can be found in Appendix
summary report for 1.16.
the OAG and the
Independent
Monitor.
65 Each school in the Compliant The Independent Monitor has
district shall conduct received these reports from
an annual forum for the Chief Ombuds Officer. A
students to discuss summary of the findings and
with faculty and recommendations can be
administrators found in Appendix 1.17.
matters related to
discipline policies.
66 The Ombuds Officer Compliant The Chief Ombuds Officer has

shall conduct staff conducted staff forums
forums annually to throughout the district.
discuss matters Documentation can be found
related to district in Appendix 1.18.
discipline policies.
The Ombuds Officer
will then summarize
each forum and
provide the
summary to the
Independent
Monitor.
67 The District shall Compliant The District continues to
conduct climate assess the climate of schools


Part/# Status
surveys, student and as required in the AOD.
staff forums for four Evidence to this fact is
years. referenced in provisions 64-
66.
68 MOU for School Compliant A Memorandum of
Resource Officers Understanding has been
executed between the District
and the City of Syracuse. A
copy can be found in
Appendix 1.19.
69 The District shall Compliant The District provides training

develop and provide as outlined in this provision
training for SROs on and a copy of the training
how to work with provided to SROs can be found
youth. in Appendix 1.20
70 The District will Compliant The District has developed a

annually conduct a plan to conduct a
comprehensive comprehensive review of the
review of SRO pertinent data, interventions,
interventions and and practices for use in
practices. schools. Further information
can be found in Appendix
1.20
71 The District shall not Compliant The District is providing

release student training to SROs and
educational records administrators that include
to law enforcement this information. SROs no
personnel without longer have access to e-school
first obtaining where student’s educational
parental consent. records are kept. The District
also operates and abides by
the Family Education Rights
and Privacy Act (FERPA) and
access is only granted


Part/# Status
according to the exceptions
provided by FERPA.
72 The Independent Compliant The District has reported to
Monitor may review the Independent Monitor that
data on SRO the training for SROs
interventions, regarding interventions
training materials for occurs at the beginning of
SROs, and attend SRO each school year. SROs are
training sessions. trained along with the school
staff at the start of the school
year.
The IM was provided and
reviewed monthly data
regarding student arrests.
73 Compliance w/SROs Compliant The District continues to

for four years provide training and monitors
the activity of law
enforcement within its
schools. Evidence to this fact is
referenced in provisions 68-
71.
74 The District shall Compliant The District uses an electronic

establish uniform system, Educator’s Handbook
standards for the to electronically capture the
content of student referral generation process
discipline file at all and facilitates the necessary
district schools. collection of data as required
by the AOD. Since the District
has this system in place, the
discipline data collection
process still has discrepancies.
The District has a process as
outlined in a memo that is
included in Appendix 1.21


Part/# Status
that describes how these
discrepancies are dealt with.
75 The District shall Compliant The District collects data and

collect, and the data the superintendent, and his
team shall evaluate cabinet review the data
data regarding weekly. (See report in
referrals for student Appendix 1.22) A specific
discipline. team of data analysts also
disaggregate the data and
meet with the Chief Ombuds
Officer and the Director of
School Culture and Climate
who in turn meet with
Principals for building level
action.
76 The District shall Compliant As mentioned in provision 74,
develop a the District continues to
Technology Plan that implement a behavior data
shall include tracking system, “Educator’s
enhancements or Handbook,” as a means of
updates to the capturing data for behaviors
District’s technology addressed in the classroom
infrastructure and and those that are referred to
subsequent the school administration.
programs. The plan They also collect records in e-
shall include school and have created an in-
enhancements or house data collection system
updates to the to record BIC data and are
District’s working on developing a
technology better system for next year
infrastructure and regarding the ISS data. The
programs as needed District submits to the NYSED
in order to collect on an annual basis a district
and accurately technology plan. The District’s
record the technology plan addresses
disciplinary data infrastructure in general
within the District.


Part/# Status
required by this Appendix 1.23 contains
Assurance. documentation and a contract
with a memo format.
77 The District shall Compliant  It has been verified

retain all records through the
collected under this superintendent’s office
Assurance, whether that any and all records
in obtained/generated by
hard copy or the AOD have and will
electronic format be retained district
wide.
 The District abides by
the NYS records
retention policy.
78 The District will Compliant The District has indicated that

annually produce a the report will be completed
report that provides in final form by mid-July 2018.
an overview of (waiting on NYSED data to be
student progress for officially released)
the District and each
school specific to
both discipline and
academics.
79A The District will Complaint The District facilitates a
conduct regular SchoolStat between the
review meetings Ombuds Officer and School
between the Chief Administrators. Evidence of
Ombuds Officer and these meetings can be found
school in Appendix 1.24. See
administrators. priority area 7.
79B School Compliant All schools have data review

administrators at teams and meet bi-weekly.
each school will They upload minutes to Office
365-One Drive and then staff,


Part/# Status
conduct data review in the office of student
meetings with staff. support services, reviews and
monitors the minutes of the
meetings. Based on the review
of the meeting minutes, they
visit and attend schools and
provide support either in the
school setting (during the day)
or at the next data meeting.
The data review teams
develop strategies to address
issues.
Appendix 1.25
80 The Independent Compliant The District has made
Monitor may review appropriate personnel
data, data available to the Independent
procedures and Monitor and has responded to
practices to all requests of the
determine if the Independent Monitor in a
District is complying timely fashion.
with this Assurance.
81 The District shall Compliant The Let’s Talk access system
publish the process has been placed back on the
for filing complaints homepage of the website for
about the discipline easy access.
process on its http://www.syracusecityscho
website and in ols.com
hardcopy. The hard The Let’s Talk application is
copy notice will be described in the COC, along
sent to all parents. with the complaint process,
and is sent home with every
elementary school student at
the beginning of the school
year and a hard copy mailed to
all middle and high schools
student’s homes.


Part/# Status
82 The District shall Compliant The District utilizes a web-

keep a log of all based communication
complaints including tracking system called “Let's
information on any Talk.” This system provides all
subsequent of the data required for this
investigation and the component.
resolution.
83 Ombuds Officer shall Compliant A copy of this analysis can be
review Complaint found in Appendix 1.26
Log semi-annually to
ensure the District is
promptly and
adequately
responding to
complaints
84 The District shall Compliant The District continues to
comply with address complaints regarding
addressing and student discipline. Evidence to
tracking complaints this fact is referenced in
for Four Years provisions 81-83.
85 The District shall Compliant As the provisions 60-84
maintain all indicate, where appropriate,
documents the District has retained and
pertaining to this provided documentation.
assurance over four
years.
86 The District shall Compliant The most recent report from
prepare a report and the 2016-2017 school year
provide it to the OAG was prepared, approved, and
that includes given to the OAG.
information outlined
in provisions 64, 68,
78, and 82.


Part/# Status
87 Documents are Complaint Any requests made of the
available to State State Education Department
Education will be fulfilled upon request.
Department upon
notice
88 District will Compliant The District has made
cooperate with the appropriate personnel
Independent available to the Independent
Monitor, OAG and Monitor and has responded to
NYSED all requests in a timely
fashion.

Summary and Recommendations

Summary
The progress the District has made is evidenced by the consistent application of the Code
of Conduct (COC) and the significant reduction in referrals and suspensions among all
subgroups. The District continues to address disproportionality with regard to
suspension, special education identification, and due process. Many processes and
safeguards are now in place that were not in place prior to the issuance of the AOD. The
District has adopted seven policies and subsequently implemented over 40 processes
that will be continued as a result of addressing the provisions of the AOD (See Appendix
1.27). It has further refined systems for collecting, maintaining, and using data for
improving student outcomes.
The addition of these processes and safeguards have given the district strong measures
for continued monitoring. Since many of the provisions focused on addressing due
process through professional development, the District has continued to monitor impact
by analyzing key metrics. Student and staff data are reviewed on a regular and ongoing
basis; some daily, some weekly and some quarterly. When comparing pre-AOD to current
year-to-date data, the number of incidents and students who have received a referral
and/or out-of-school suspension has significantly decreased.
The following are highlights of the changes by sub-group for both referrals for behavior
and out-of-school suspensions pre-AOD to current year.
 Incidents of referrals has decreased for all sub-groups as noted below.

o All Students: A decrease of 43% (13,919 less referrals)
o African American/Black: A decrease of 36% (7,368 less referrals)
o Hispanic/Latino: A decrease of 42% (1,636 less referrals)
o White: A decrease of 67% (4,410 less referrals)
o All other Races/Ethnicity: A decrease of 27% (505 less referrals)
o Students with Disabilities: A decrease of 55% (5,945 less referrals)

 Similar to referrals, the number of both incidents and individual students who
received an out-of-school suspension decreased.
o Out-of-school suspensions -Incidents (the number of times a suspension
was assigned)
 All Students: A decrease of 49% (4,487 less incidents)
 African American/Black: A decrease of 46% (2,862 less incidents)
 Hispanic/Latino: A decrease of 50% (538 less incidents)
 White: A decrease of 61% (973 less incidents)
 All other Races/Ethnicity: A decrease of 27% (114 less incidents)
 Students with Disabilities: A decrease of 62% (2,015 less
incidents)
o Out-of-school suspensions -Number of Students (the number of students

who were suspended at least once)
 All Students: A decrease of 41% (1,433 less students)
 African American/Black: A decrease of 42% (962 less students)
 Hispanic/Latino: A decrease of 40% (172 less students)
 White: A decrease of 49% (283 less students)
 All other Races/Ethnicity: A decrease of 10% (16 less students)
 Students with Disabilities: A decrease of 53% (575 less students)
Tables 16 and 17 below delineate the specific counts of referral incidents, out-of-school
suspension incidents and count of students, as well as the days lost and gained. Table 16
provides detail for each race/ethnic subgroup and students with disabilities. Table 17
dives a little deeper into the students with disabilities data by further looking at race and
ethnicity for this subgroup of students.

Table 16: OSS Assigned to Students by Race/Ethnicity and for Students with Disabilities
(SWD)
All Students Black Hispanic White Other SWD
2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018
Enrollment 21,669 20,872 10,727 10,331 2,872 2,792 5,226 4,633 2,844 3,116 4,368 3,810
Referral
32,731 18,812 20,370 13,002 3,874 2,238 6,595 2,185 1,892 1,387 10,903 4,958
Incidents
OSS
Incidents 9,238 4,751 6,156 3,294 1,068 530 1,586 613 428 314 3,259 1,244
OSS
Individual 3,459 2,026 2,291 1,329 427 255 577 294 164 148 1,082 507
Students
OSS Days
21,346 11,144 14,554 7,789 2,467 1,271 3,415 1,414 911 670 7,402 2,933
Lost
Days
10,202 6,765 1,196 2,001 241 4,469
Gained
Table 17: OSS Assigned to Students With Disabilities (SWD) by Race/Ethnicity
SWD SWD SWD SWD SWD

All Students Black Hispanic White Other
2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018
Enrollment 4,368 3,810 2,163 1,826 629 625 1,267 989 309 370
Referral
10,903 4,958 5,963 3,031 1,456 592 2,744 854 740 344
Incidents
OSS Incidents 3,259 1,244 1,917 808 417 119 734 230 191 87
OSS Individual
Students 1,082 507 658 303 142 58 224 106 58 40
OSS Days Lost 7,402 2,933 4,553 1,933 935 294 1,556 537 359 170
Days Gained 4,469 2,620 641 1,019 189

When reviewing this data, the District recognized that although all of the data elements
are important, the most crucial to getting to the root of disproportionality is examining
the number of individual students who have been suspended by subgroup.
While the District continues to monitor the number of days lost, it should also be noted
that the District has gained back 10,202 days of school due to the decrease in the
number of out-of-school suspensions.
Additionally, the staff referrals have been closely monitored –as it has been a guide for
needed professional development and support. As shown in Table 18, the number of staff
who wrote referrals decreased to 41% of all staff from 87% of all staff prior to the
AOD.
Table 18: Number of Staff Writing Referrals
Number of Referrals
Count SY2014 Count SY2018
Written
100+ 37 25
max=339 max=334
75-99 31 21
50-74 82 44
40-49 58 29
30-39 89 54
20-29 175 99
10-19 358 201
1-9 1230 686
0 302 (13%) 1,646 (59%)
Total Staff 2,362 2,805
Total Staff Writing
2,060 1,159
Referrals
In conclusion, the data shows the District has made substantial improvements and
met all of the AOD requirements. The processes in place now allow the District to
deeply monitor the essence of what the AOD framework aimed to achieve.

Recommendations
In moving forward, it is recommended that the District develop a transition plan that will
identify strategies for continued monitoring. It should specifically include the following:
 Continue school visits focused on the culture and climate, recognition of progress
and the identification of school needs
 Continue to implement the Code of Conduct with fidelity and monitor each
school’s implementation
 Implement the necessary training for all staff striving for 100% participation in
AOD related training areas of:
o Code of Conduct
o Culturally Responsive Education
o Restorative Practices
o Classroom Management
When examining professional development, there must be an emphasis on

comprehensive differentiational models based on need as outlined through
continuous data collection and analysis
 Develop oversight teams to review climate survey and forum data

 Develop and monitor an oversight plan around SRO reviews in accordance with
the memorandum of understanding
 Continue to collect data for students referred for behavior reasons, in-school and
out-of-school suspensions by subgroup with a focus on recidivism
 Establish an oversight team that reviews the data collection processes, the records
management process and the means that complaints relating to student behavior
have been recorded and addressed
 Implement an aligned management system that connects the District strategic
plan to the work throughout the District and school improvement planning for
implementation of strategies for greater student success

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ASSURANCE OF DISCONTINUANCE

END OF YEAR REPORT

Office of the Attorney General

Not for Public Release

SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

 ensure that the educational environment is safe and conducive to learning

Page 1 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

 An update on the status of implementation of the seven priority areas for

Page 2 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Section One: 2017-2018 Priority Areas

PRIORITY AREA 1: PREVENTATIVE STRATEGIES PLAN ACROSS SCHOOLS (PROVISIONS 38 A-D).

Table 1A: Total Number of Referrals Assigned by Student by Race/Ethnicity.

Page 3 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Table 2A: Total Number of ISS Assigned by student.

Table 3A: Total Number of OSS Assigned by Student.

Page 4 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

PRIORITY AREA 2: BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION CENTERS AND IN-SCHOOL SUSPENSION

Table 4: BIC Visits and Duration of Stay

Count Percent of District Average Length of

Page 5 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Table 5: Number and Percent of Individual Students Assigned ISS by Subgroup

PRIORITY AREA 3: LOCAL MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION REVIEW (MDR) PROCESS-SCHOOL

Page 6 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

School Level MDRs Held

Page 7 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

PRIORITY AREA 4: TWILIGHT ACADEMY (PROVISIONS 45E)

Page 8 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Table 6: Twilight Audit Results

Current Building for Currently Active

Page 9 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Table 7: 2017-2018 Twilight Referral and Placement Through APC

Table 8: Students in Twilight Previously Enrolled Before APC Process

Page 10 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Table 9: 2017-2018 Twilight Enrollment by School

Enrollment Location # of Students Enrolled per site

PRIORITY AREA 5: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, (PROVISIONS 59 & 61)

Figure 4: Percent of Staff Trained in Each AOD Area

Page 11 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

PRIORITY AREA 6: CLIMATE SURVEY (PROVISION 64)

Table 10: AOD Survey Questions Blue Print

Survey Category Teacher/Staff Parent/Family Student

Table 11: Survey Supplemental Questions Blue Print

Survey Category Teacher/Staff Parent/Family Student

Page 12 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Figure 5: Response Rates by Groups Surveyed

Page 13 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Figure 6: Response Rate by Enrollment

Figure 7: Sample Wording of Survey Questions and Responses

Page 14 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Table 12: Survey Highlights based on Relationship Survey Area

Survey Area: Relationships

Under the relationship category, students are experiencing greater confidence in

Table 13: Survey Highlights based on School Safety Survey Area

Survey Area: School Safety

Page 15 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

Table 14: Survey Highlights based Fairness, Clarity of Rules

Survey Area: Fairness, clarity of rules

There is an overwhelming response to fairness. It was really interesting as I reviewed all

Table 15: Additional Survey Insights

Page 16 REPORT NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

PRIORITY AREA 7: DATA REVIEW MEETINGS (PROVISION 79B)

Figure 8: Data Review Meetings Process and Dates of Implementation

Nov. 8 Nov. 8-15 Nov. 15-17 Nov. 16-Dec. 1