WHEREAS, the New York Times  on Oct. 29 revealed the existence at Success Academy Fort Greene of a “got-to-go” list singling out students they would like to see leave; and

WHEREAS, documents obtained by the Times and interviews conducted by it with 10 current and former Success employees at five different Success schools suggest that administrators across the Success network may be targeting “difficult” or “weak” students in similar fashion; and

WHEREAS, Success students as young as age 5 or 6 have been suspended after incurring several minor infractions; at one Success school, 11 kindergarten and 1st-grade students were suspended a total of 44 times, including one student who was suspended 12 times before leaving the school, according PBS NewsHour education correspondent John Merrow; and

WHEREAS, the suspension rates at Success Academy are almost three times higher than in the city’s district schools, according to an analysis by Chalkbeat;

WHEREAS, during the 2013–14 school year, Success Academy suspended 11 percent of its student body while district schools suspended just 1 percent, according to a report by the Albert Shanker Institute, at a moment when citywide suspensions are declining, according to the Times; and

WHEREAS, studies show that students who are suspended are more likely to be held back a grade, drop out of school or end up in trouble with the law; and

WHEREAS, New York City district public schools, which serve all children, educate higher percentages of high-needs students, including English language learners and children with disabilities, than Success schools do; and

WHEREAS, Success Academy Fort Greene’s “got-to-go” list and the network’s frequent use of out-of-school suspensions that prompts some parents to pull their children out is yet further evidence that the network’s schools do not educate the same mix of students as the city’s district schools, rendering test-score comparisons misleading; and therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the UFT join state elected officials and education and civil rights advocates in calling on the state Legislature to conduct an investigation into disciplinary conditions and the high rate of suspensions at Success Academy; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the UFT call for a moratorium on new Success Academy Charter Schools.