Graphic: Why Pasadena Unified Students Get Suspended

Yesterday at Patch we showed you data from the California Department of Education showing Pasadena Unified School District suspensions by the race of the student.  Today's graphic shows the reason why students got suspended.

Overall, Pasadena Unified students were suspended at a rate above state and county average, with 8.3 percent of students suspended in 2011-12, compared to 4.4 percent county-wide and 5.7 percent state-wide.

The graphic above shows both in-school suspensions, where the student is pulled from class but remains at school, and out-of-school suspensions, where the student is sent home.

The latter category is far more common with 3,645 instances in 2011-2012 compared to just 284 in-school suspensions.  Those numbers refer to the total number of suspensions, with the offenses committed by 1,776 students across PUSD.

The most common reason listed by the state was "Other," showing that not all suspensions fall into a clear category.  The next most common reason for suspension was for a violent incident with no serious injury.

Statewide, 53 percent of suspensions were listed in the 'other' category compared to 50 percent at PUSD, making it the most common listing in both cases.  Statewide too, the second most common issue was a violent incident with no serious injury.