A new proposal banning expulsions for school disobedience is a step closer to becoming law in California.
Why is it those who make it harder for others to live, learn and succeed are constantly rewarded or given a pass in this state?
It’s time for First Thoughts.
CALIFORNIA OKS NEW SEX-ED GUIDELINES FOR TEACHERS DESPITE OBJECTIONS FROM PARENTS, PROTESTERS
Students from 4th through 8th grade who "disrupt school activities or otherwise willfully defy the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, or school officials," will likely be shielded from expulsion thanks to SB 419, which passed the state assembly in August.
If it becomes law, it will also apply to charter schools.
Democratic (of course) State Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley sponsored the bill, saying, "The elimination of suspension for disruption/defiance will result in an overall reduction in suspensions and an increase in positive outcomes for students and the communities in which they live."
Assembly analysis of the bill also referenced a 2018 Government Accountability Office study, which said, "black students, boys, and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined in K-12 schools. They found this was the case regardless of the type of disciplinary action, poverty at the school level, or type of public school the students attended."
Listen, I don’t think expulsion is necessarily the best way to punish students who act out, misbehave or otherwise cause a problem in the classroom. Simply casting them out doesn’t solve the problems that likely stem from the student’s household, upbringing or other factors.
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My issue is that this state is going out of its way, on every level, to coddle those who make it harder for others to live, work, and learn. There is no discipline, anymore, anywhere.
This isn’t just a school issue either, but it may start there. If we don’t punish young people for misbehaving, breaking the rules, or even breaking the law, all we are doing is enabling and encouraging the behavior. No consequence, no lesson, no changed behavior.
Who does that benefit? Not the kids, not the teachers, and certainly not the other students just trying to do their best and learn in what should be a safe and structured learning environment.
I don’t think expulsion is necessarily the best way to punish students who act out, misbehave or otherwise cause a problem in the classroom. Simply casting them out doesn’t solve the problems that likely stem from the student’s household, upbringing or other factors.
Where is the sympathy for those kids? Those families? They are the ones who suffer and have their educational environment compromised.
Start showing kids their poor choices and bad actions don’t come with serious consequences and they will continue to act out. What starts as misbehaving or disobeying in the classroom can become breaking the law and endangering the community later in life.
Then what? Well, then California’s felon-friendly laws — including AB 109, SB 180 and Props 47 and 57 — kick in, and we have what we see on the streets today: addicts, felons, thieves, drug dealers and even sex offenders. Our state's leaders are more concerned with touting the lowered prison population and handing out second, third, and 15th chances than they are about protecting and serving law-abiding residents who are just trying to work hard and make a living.
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Then our Democratic-voting residents wonder why we have all these problems. Hello! You can't decriminalize, rename and deflect the mess away. It’s still here and it’s getting worse.
It’s time for personal responsibility, accountability, and justice to mean something again. Giving passes doesn't benefit anyone, especially the young people you are enabling. Tough love wins in the end.
Those are my First Thoughts. From Los Angeles, God bless and take care.
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