VSBA Action Alert
Student Discipline Bills - HB1536 and
HB1534 (R. P. Bell)
These two bills are scheduled to be heard in the House
Education Committee at 8:00 a.m. on Monday morning. Please contact
members of the House Education Committee this weekend to ask them to oppose HB
1536 and HB 1534.
HB 1536 was amended in subcommittee on Friday. The
amended bill limits the length of time that a student in grades pre-K through 3
can be suspended to 5 days. A student in grades pre-k through 3 cannot be
suspended for more than 5 days or expelled, except in
certain cases involving firearms or drugs. VSBA opposes this bill.
· While long-term suspensions and expulsions are very rarely
used for students in grade three and below, suspensions and expulsions are an
option that school divisions may consider in the most egregious cases.
This bill has the purpose and effect of prohibiting any suspension of more than
5 days for students in pre-K through 3 regardless of the seriousness of the
offense (even for a serious or violent criminal offense).
· State funds are not available for alternative education
programs for elementary students.
· This bill severely limits a school division’s options for
disciplining students without providing any additional resources for
appropriate alternatives.
· The proponent of this bill, Just Children, recommended as
its number one recommendation in its 2016 report that the General Assembly
provide school divisions with additional funding needed to implement methods of
preventing and addressing misbehavior without using suspension and expulsion,
yet that funding has not been requested nor is it being provided. This
bill takes a tool away from schools without giving schools any alternatives to
use.
Please contact members of the House Education Committee,
listed below, this weekend and ask them to vote NO on HB 1536.
HB 1534 was also amended in
subcommittee on Friday. The amended bill limits long-term suspensions to
45 days, unless aggravating circumstances exist, in which case the long-term
suspension may last a maximum of 90 days. VSBA opposes this bill.
·
In 2014-2015, there were 1,279,867 students enrolled in public
schools. According to the proponent’s own data, only 2,819 of those
students received long-term suspensions. Thus, only two-tenths of one
percent (0.22%) of students received a long-term suspension.
·
These statistics demonstrate that school divisions are already
appropriately limiting the use of long-term suspensions to the most egregious
cases.
·
Because of the limitations this bill will place on school divisions, it
is likely that serious offenses will be more likely to result in expulsion,
when previously they would have only resulted in long-term suspension. This is
an unintended but very serious consequence of this bill.
Please contact members of the House Education Committee, listed below, this weekend
and ask them to vote NO on HB 1534.
Members of the House
Education Committee (click on the name to link to contact information): Landes
(Chairman), Pogge (Vice
Chair), Lingamfelter,
Cole,
Massie,
Greason,
Bell,
Richard P., LeMunyon,
Robinson,
Yost,
Yancey,
Dudenhefer,
Davis,
Leftwich,
LaRock,
Tyler,
Bulova,
Keam,
Hester,
Lindsey,
Bagby
