File photo: Pupils listen to their teacher in a classroom on the first day of the school year. ; Credit: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images
The state Senate has recently passed a bill that bans the use of suspensions and expulsions for dealing with students who commit defiant and disruptive acts.
Current laws let school officials decide whether to suspend or expulse defiant students. AB 420, authored by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento), would strip that authority from administrators and would send violators to in-school suspensions instead.
Supporters of the measure say suspensions and expulsions don't effectively address the issue. Opponents say AB 420 leaves teachers with one less tool to discipline rowdy students.
Los Angeles Unified banned suspensions for willful defiance in 2013.
Should suspension and expulsion be banned? Should the state mandate what individual school districts should do in dealing with deviant students?
Guests:
Brad Strong, Senior Director of Education at Children Now, a research and policy development, and advocacy organization dedicated to promoting education in California. The organization is a co-sponsor of the bill
Joshua Pechthalt, President, California Federation of Teachers, which represents faculty and other school employees in public and private schools in the state