States Seek to Handle School Discipline in Vastly Different Ways

As schools open for the 2024–2025 academic year, states differ on how teachers should deal with disruptive students.

Some are pushing for a more punitive approach, with suspensions for repeat offenders, while others disapprove of removing students from classrooms.

As an alternative to suspension, unruly students would be referred to social workers or child psychologists or placed in anger management programs.

The legislation encourages a case management approach where a team of school support service professionals customize a student’s plan to improve behavior. It does allow for suspensions for more severe cases of bullying or violent behavior, and racist incidents require additional interventions.

“Local educational agencies are encouraged to require perpetrators to engage in culturally sensitive programs that promote racial justice and equity and combat racism and ignorance,” the bill reads.

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A state Senate committee is scheduled to discuss the legislation on Aug. 15.

Under the legislation, elementary school students in grades K–5 who engage in violent, threatening, or intimidating behavior toward students or staff can be suspended and then placed in an alternative school, or a county behavior intervention program.

In his decision, he cited a Nov. 17 incident in Charlottesville in which police responded to complaints at the high school twice in one day.

Twenty-seven teachers then declined to return to school.

“Teachers who are concerned about decaying discipline in our schools consistently point to a failure to confront and address the small number of students who are responsible for this violence,” Youngkin wrote in his decision, according to the Virginia General Assembly website.

“Fundamentally, for our schools to be safe places for young Virginians to learn and become active citizens, they must be safe. The bill proposes a top-down mandate, forcing school administrators to first utilize restorative practices rather than immediately suspending or otherwise disciplining students who are violent in school.”

Teacher Bill of Rights amendments in Louisiana and Alabama were signed into law at the end of the 2024 legislative sessions and are now in effect.

Teachers in both states can send disruptive students to the principal’s office, where administrators then decide on punishments like detention or suspensions.

Advocates say these laws ensure that school administrators support teachers if there’s pushback from parents.

“As we approach a new school year, please recommit to assertive discipline action to create safe and orderly environments where teaching and learning can flourish. Students and teachers deserve peaceful schools.”

Most of the 116 public schools representing different regions of the country that participated in a May survey indicated that incidents of student fighting, cutting class, cyberbullying, and threatening teachers have occurred in the past year.

Eighty-three percent of the schools surveyed said the lingering effects of COVID-19 continue to impact the emotional development of students.

The Florida Bill of Rights that took effect last year has “a right to control the classroom” section that allows teachers to establish a classroom code of conduct, remove disruptive students, and obtain training in violence prevention, classroom management, and conflict resolution.

While educators are responsible for maintaining a safe environment where all students have a right to learn and should not be disrupted by their unruly peers, Faustino said, there’s a better way to establish rules and expectations from the start—before kids become disengaged, bored, and problematic.

“There’s a code of conduct that must be explained to the rule-breakers, but before something escalates to the discipline phase, we should be as positive and proactive as we can,” Faustino told The Epoch Times on Aug. 6.

“Sometimes it’s just a matter of telling them what they should do instead of what they shouldn’t do.

“If they’re engaged in classroom activities, they’re less likely to act out. And if they’re not engaged, find out why. Adults must adjust to this, too.”