In November 2011, Richard Farkas, vice president of the United Federation of Teachers, New York City’s teachers’ union, testified before the city council. He delivered an earnest critique of the “no-excuses” discipline policies dominant in the Department of Education during the era of former mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Farkas advocated for a more holistic understanding of student behavior and noted that youth “would be better served by less emphasis on discipline and a greater emphasis on prevention and intervention.” He made explicit the gross racial disproportionality of the policy’s outcomes as well as the role of high-stakes testing in incentivizing suspensions — it’s hard to keep challenging students engaged with test-driven curriculum, and students’ scores don’t count if they’re expelled.

The UFT’s position was clear: the union was opposed to a punitive system of discipline.