Bay State Sees Big Jump In Student Suspensions.

Massachusetts education officials are reporting a record increase in student suspensions in the state. New figures from the state education department show that in the 2000-01 school year, Bay State schools meted out 1,621 student "exclusions." The new number, the most recent available, represents a 15 percent hike over the 1,412 exclusions reported the previous year and marks the highest figure since the state began collecting such information eight years ago. Education department officials point out that changes in state policy in the mid-1990s shifted the authority to expel students from school boards to principals in cases involving drugs, weapons, or assaults.