gets his or her way, day after day, to destroy
a classroom. When processes are flawed,
systems inadvertently fail. We should all want
to create a system that serves our students
and to do that we must get the discipline
process right.
TEACHERS DISCIPLINE ACT
Creating a more integrated system is what
House Bill 2134/Senate Bill 2252 will do for our
schools in Tennessee. The legislation, known
as the Teacher’s Discipline Act, authorizes a
teacher to manage the teacher’s classroom,
discipline students, and refer a student to the
principal or the principal’s designee to maintain
discipline in the classroom. The legislation
authorizes a teacher to remove a student
from the classroom whose behavior interferes
with the learning process, violates the student
code of conduct, or poses a safety threat and
establishes the process for a student’s removal
and return to the classroom.
Critics want to play on the fear that some
teachers will simply remove all students from
their classrooms. It is clear this scare
tactic is promulgated by those who have
neither read the legislation or do not
comprehend it. Three safety features are
built into this process: 1) The LEA itself
establishes the process, which includes
adherence to federal and state laws; 2)
The principal still ultimately makes the
decision on student removal; 3) Students
themselves are afforded an opportunity
to explain the situation. States like
Georgia, Texas, and Florida already
have much more robust and stricter laws
to address student discipline. It is worth
noting that in Georgia, suspension and
expulsion rates have now decreased in
recent years.
Children cannot learn in a classroom
where their teachers spend a significant
amount of time dealing with student
discipline issues. It can be unsafe for
the teacher and the other students,
and significantly disrupts the learning
environment. In Who Killed School
Discipline? author Kay Hymowitz
wrote: “When students believe that the
adults around them are not only fair but
genuinely concerned with protecting
them, the school can become a
community that, like a good family,
inspires affection, trust.” We need a
better process for our discipline issues
to create a better public-school system.
House Bill 2134/Senate Bill 2252 is a
step in the right direction.
PROBLEMS WITH RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
When we look at education today, we see
so many teachers, parents, and children
disconnected. Society is being torn apart and
our culture is changing before our eyes. Parents
are out of the picture, and children are raising
themselves. Parents do not trust schools, and
teachers are not supported by parents. Children