Strict rules can foster calm classrooms. But some students pay the price

"Levent has ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which his school, Paramount Englewood, has documented as a disability. School records show he has been disciplined for misbehavior like repeatedly disrespecting teachers and for leaving campus during the school day, raising safety concerns; he's been suspended for fighting, for "not following school rules" when he was already in trouble and for "horseplaying (fighting) in the restroom.""

"It often feels to Levent, who is in eighth grade, like he's being unfairly punished. Take an incident last school year, when he was suspended for wrestling with a classmate. "It felt like I was getting suspended for just playing around with my friend," Levent says. To his mom, when her son gets suspended from school and sent home, it feels like the school is ignoring his disability. Shania says ADHD makes Levent impulsive and contributes to many of the incidents that get him suspended."

"In records, school staff have said they don't believe all of Levent's misbehavior is related to his disability. Nationwide, students with disabilities are suspended at far higher rates than their non-disabled peers. Levent's school is part of a charter network that stands out in Indiana: An NPR analysis of 2024-25 state data found that the system, Paramount Schools of Excellence, suspended students with disabilities about three times as often as the state average."

Thirteen-year-old Levent attends an Indianapolis middle school and is academically behind. School records document his ADHD and list repeated discipline for disrespect, leaving campus, fighting, not following rules, and horseplaying in the restroom. His mother, Shania, links frequent suspensions to his ADHD impulsivity and says suspensions ignore his disability and hinder learning. School staff contend not all misbehavior is disability-related. Nationwide, students with disabilities are suspended at far higher rates than peers. A 2024-25 Indiana state data analysis found that Paramount Schools of Excellence suspended students with disabilities about three times the state average.

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