Wareham Public School students received more than double the number of out-of-school suspensions compared to the state average for the 2015/2016 school year. Overall, student discipline rates declined as school officials responded to sweeping changes in how districts must handle punishment.

The state released discipline data for all schools and districts on Nov. 17. The Department of Education now receives and compiles the data following the passage of a state law that took effect in 2014. The new regulations are designed to reduce suspensions and promote other forms of discipline that keep students in school and focused on their studies.

In 2015/16, 323 students out of 2,728 total in the district received either in-school or out-of-school suspensions. In 2014/15, 336 students out of 2,804 were disciplined. The number of students who received both in-school and out-of-school suspensions, when compared to the overall student population, dropped from 12.4 percent in 2013/14 to 11.8 percent in 2015/16.

At least one School Committee member is alarmed with the suspension rate at Decas Elementary School, which serves grades kindergarten through two. In 2014/15, 17 students out of 712 total received either in-school or out-of-school suspensions at Decas. In 2015/16, 34 students out of 695 were disciplined.

“Why are 5 and 8 year olds being suspended?” asked committee member Mary Morgan. “I personally do not think suspension is an effective method of discipline. Many times it reinforces the behavior because the child wants a day off from school.”

Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Shaver-Hood said administrators are taking a proactive approach to discipline by recognizing early problem signs.

“We’ve added social workers, counselors, behaviorists and school psychologists because we know these areas need to be addressed at the beginning before it results in student behavior that requires discipline,” said Shaver-Hood. “We’re not there yet, but we have seen a decrease in discipline rates as well as an increase in our students seeking counselors.”

At Wareham High School, out-of-school suspension rates also dropped. In 2013/14 the rate was 17.4 percent compared to 15.9 percent for 2015/16, the high school’s population for those years were 637 and 537, respectively.

Across the district, out-of-school suspension rates were 10 percent this year, compared to the state’s 2.9 percent.

Shaver-Hood said Wareham’s higher rate may be due to two factors, the loss of staff that could have intervened with students before discipline is required and other districts underreporting incidents.

“It’s very important for us to have accurate information, therefore we log every incident, and I can tell you that our figures are accurate,” said Shaver-Hood. “I can’t speak to other district’s figures.”

Shaver-Hood said reducing out-of-school and in-school suspensions is important to officials. To achieve that a district-wide initiative was adopted, known as Positive Behavior Interventions. Under the program, teachers recognize good behavior patterns and address issues through education before discipline is required.

Morgan said more needs to be done, especially at the elementary school level, which she said recently lost funding for paraprofessionals.

“They decided to remove the paraprofessionals from the kindergarten where it is one of the most critical years for students,” said Morgan. “It sets the stage for their academic career.”

Addressing discipline requires smaller class sizes and paraprofessionals in every room, said Morgan.

As for Shaver-Hood, she said officials take discipline seriously and are making progress.

“Discipline rates are something that we watch and it’s something that we are continually working on,” said Shaver-Hood. “We have a very, very small percentage of students that have multiple offenses.”