Members of the community gathered Thursday for part two of a four-part series discussing the idea of eliminating out-of-school suspensions in Buffalo Public Schools.

While most districts in New York were able to reduce their number of suspensions last year, Buffalo's increased.

Data shows Buffalo Public Schools suspended more than 2,200 students from September to November of last year.

Many are upset because they believe suspending kids is not helping them with their education and growth.

"We want to replace out of school suspension because it doesn't actually work with restorative practices,” said Duncan Kirkwod, an Education Trust of New York fellow. “Where we are trying to restore the child, get to the root of the problem, give the child supports, give the family supports, have a conference, all the different steps. Teaching a child how to self-regulate, and we know that isn't an easy snap your fingers lift, but we know that actually helps build the child, whereas out of school suspension is just punishing and really preparing children for the school-to-prison pipeline.”

Parents are asking BPS to get rid of out-of-school suspensions for pre-k through third grade, but their ultimate goal is to eliminate it all the way through 12th grade.