California bill curbing ‘willful defiance’ suspensions opens school discipline debate
Published: Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014 - 12:00 am
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| Assemblyman Roger Dickinson says the willful defiance provision varies wildly in its application and falls disproportionately on students of color. |
The way he sees it, a stolen backpack could have derailed Brian Hernandez’s academic career.
Frustrated that his bag had disappeared along with the schoolwork it contained, Hernandez said, he fell into an argument with his teacher and was sent out of the room. Next time it happens, a counselor said, step outside and cool off. So he did.
“We got upset at each other again, and it was over some work also,” recounted Hernandez outside a recent hearing he attended at the state Capitol with other youth advocates. “I just said, ‘can I go outside? Because I’m feeling kind of upset.’ I raised my hand and he completely ignored me, so I walked out.”
When Hernandez returned to the classroom after a couple of minutes, according to the student, the teacher suspended him for three days – during finals week.
One reason for the suspension, according to Hernandez, was what’s commonly referred to as “willful defiance.” One of many justifications California teachers can invoke to banish wayward students from classrooms, the practice has drawn scrutiny from educators, civil rights advocates and legislators who say it is overused.
Adding to the growing backlash is a resuscitated Assembly Bill 420, by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, that would ban expulsions based on willful defiance and prohibit willful defiance suspensions for the youngest California students, those in kindergarten through third grade.
“Soon enough, everybody will have equality in school and no one will be suspended because the teacher had a bad day or the student had a bad day,” said Hernandez, now a 17-year-old senior at Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles.
California’s education code lists dozens of reasons to suspend or expel students. Among them are instances where a student “disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority” of teachers and administrators. Statistics from the state’s Department of Education show that willful defiance was listed as a reason in 43 percent of the 609,776 suspensions handed down in the 2012-13 academic year.
That isn’t to say it is the sole factor spurring those suspensions. Administrators often list willful defiance as one in a universe of related infractions. Hernandez’s principal said the student was punished only after a pattern of misbehavior that administrators tried unsuccessfully to correct. Principal Brian Bivins refrained from getting into specifics but said the case was more complex than a student talking back to a teacher.
“I can’t say willful defiance is not part of it, but I can say he was not suspended for willful defiance,” Bivins said. “We do everything we can at this point to avoid suspension across theCalifornia bill curbing ‘willful defiance’ suspensions opens school discipline debate - Capitol and California - The Sacramento Bee: