Nearly 15 Years After Student Discipline Reform, School Suspensions in Mass. Are Falling. Are Emergency Removals Taking Their Place?

The number of emergency removals dipped during the 2020-2021 school year but has increased every year since 2022. In those districts alone, emergency removals collectively grew by 78 percent while suspensions decreased by 23 percent. But, when it comes to emergency removals, these categories have been increasingly cited as the offense type. Abeyta said emergency removals are mostly reserved for safety issues, though in 2025, nearly 44 percent of Chelsea’s emergency removals were for non-drug, non-violent, non-criminal offenses. Maura Healey’s recent proposal to direct an additional $100 million to public school districts across the state.