Heather Peske warns on exclusion
NCTQ president Heather Peske urged that teacher training reduce reliance on exclusionary discipline for minor issues, citing disproportionate impacts on students of color and students with disabilities. She framed the problem as one of preparation and practice rather than simply a policy choice. (x.com)
Heather Peske, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, said teacher training should do more to curb the use of suspensions and other exclusionary discipline for minor behavior issues. (teacherquality.nctq.org) Peske made the case on April 14, 2026, when NCTQ released a new classroom management framework for elementary teacher preparation programs. The group said too many new teachers enter classrooms without the skills to prevent disruptions, build routines, and respond to behavior without pushing students out of class. (teacherquality.nctq.org) NCTQ’s framework says exclusionary discipline includes office referrals, suspension, expulsion, seclusion, and restraint, and says those practices are tied to negative academic and long-term outcomes. It also says those penalties fall disproportionately on students of color and students with disabilities. (teacherquality.nctq.org) The group’s argument is that classroom management starts before a teacher ever runs a class alone. Its framework tells preparation programs to train candidates to examine bias, set clear expectations, teach behavior explicitly, and treat misbehavior as a skill gap instead of a character flaw. (teacherquality.nctq.org) That emphasis comes as teachers report behavior is a daily strain on the job. NCTQ cited survey data showing 58% of teachers address behavioral challenges every day and 52% say student behavior is their top source of work-related stress. (teacherquality.nctq.org) Federal education researchers have reported that exclusionary discipline raises the risk of academic failure, dropout, and social-emotional and mental health problems. The same review said students with disabilities made up about 13% of K-12 enrollment in 2017-18 but received about 25% of one or more out-of-school suspensions and 23% of expulsions. (nces.ed.gov) The Institute of Education Sciences has also said exclusionary discipline is ineffective at reducing misbehavior and pointed schools toward alternatives including restorative practices, trauma-informed approaches, social-emotional learning, and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Its January 2025 handout said those alternatives still need culturally responsive implementation to reduce disparities. (ies.ed.gov) The National Association of School Psychologists has pushed a similar line for years, calling for discipline practices that keep students in class and out of the juvenile justice system while reducing racial disparities in suspension and expulsion. That puts Peske’s warning inside a broader shift from punishment after disruption to prevention, relationship-building, and support before behavior escalates. (nasponline.org) Peske’s point was narrower than a call for one new law. NCTQ framed the problem as one teacher preparation programs can address now, by changing what aspiring teachers practice before they become the adult deciding whether a student stays in the room. (teacherquality.nctq.org)
