Exporting a bad idea

Even the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, Wallace Jefferson, thinks issuing Class C citations to students for "disrupting class" is a bad idea.

According to this article from the Guardian, Judge Jefferson thinks introducing children to the criminal (in)justice system is helping drive them to jail. Even the US Attorney General, Eric Holder, thinks it's a bad idea.

It appears that the British government is looking to take cues from the Lone Star State in dealing with juveniles. Crispin Blunt, the UK's justice minister, toured juvenile courts and detention centers in Texas this fall on a fact-finding mission.

Emulating the way in which Texas handles its school disciplinary issues will only succeed in introducing more young people to the criminal (in)justice system. The most common citation issued to students in Texas is "disrupting class." Can you imagine a more nebulous term? What constitutes a disruption serious enough to warrant charging a student with a criminal offense?

Do we really need to make kids miss class to attend court because they spoke out of turn? Because they made an inappropriate joke? Because they insulted another student? Because they took too long coming back from a potty break?

And what are the leaders of the Texas State Teachers Association took no position on the issue when the legislature last debated it. The head of the union said that most of his members are in favor of issuing criminal citations to students.

And what message is that sending? The job of our schools is to educate our youth, not to socialize them in the workings of the criminal (in)justice system. Those who support the current law, and those who take no position, are doing our children a grave injustice.

Instead of looking for excuses to enter people into the criminal (in)justice system, we should be looking for ways to keep them out.

More than half of Texas students suspended or expelled

The results of a longitudinal study that followed one million Texas seventh-graders for six years reveals that 60% of those students were suspended or expelled at least once before finishing high school.

That is an astounding number - and an indictment of disciplinary policy in Texas schools.The purpose of public education is to ensure that every child in Texas receives a quality education through high school. Policies that result in more than half of our children being suspended or expelled and policies that introduce children to the criminal (in)justice system for misconduct at school are antithetical to the mission of our schools.

Mike Thompson of the Council of State Governments Justice Center said that this is a continuation of a 20-year trend that has seen suspension and expulsion rates double across the country. I guess it's a lot easier to educate the children who behave and leave everyone else to fend for themselves. But kids who drop out, are expelled or who fail to graduate for some other reason are more likely to find themselves caught up in the criminal (in)justice system as adults.

There are already too many folks under the thumb of the government. We don't need more.

Thompson said that's the problem: Expulsion and suspension policies focus too much on punishment, and not enough on addressing the misbehavior and having students learn from their mistakes. 

"We think the findings in this report should prompt policymakers in Texas and everywhere else to ask this question: Is our state school discipline system getting the desired results?" Thompson said.

According to the study, almost one-in-six children were punished eleven times or more. Of those, about half ended up in juvenile justice centers or alternative schools for 73 days or more. Those are the kids who tend to repeat grades or drop out of school without graduating.

The study also revealed that 70% of black girls were either suspended or expelled compared to 37% of white girls for the same or similar offenses. That's hardly a coincidence. Disciplinary decisions tend to be made solely by a teacher or administrator - hence there are no checks-and-balances to ensure that all students are treated equally.

The report also looked at the fascination that Texas schools have with issuing Class C citations for behavior that a generation ago would have been handled in class or within the school. Talking back to the teacher or disrupting class make it harder for teachers to do their jobs -- but charging a kid with a criminal offense and requiring them to miss school to appear in court with their parents is not the way to resolve it. We should be looking at ways to reduce the number of people introduced to the criminal (in)justice system, not the other way around.

State Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) voiced his concern to the Houston Chronicle about schools farming out disciplinary problems to the courts:

Whitmire complained of "large inner-city school districts creating a large bureaucracy to deal with oftentimes just dumb teenage behavior that can be corrected short of making it a crime." 

Whitmire said the report confirms his concern over the continual growth in criminalizing classroom behavior. 

"We all want safe schools, an orderly environment and for teachers to be left alone," said Whitmire, the senior member of the Texas Senate. "The nonsense begins with overusing the issuance of Class C misdemeanor tickets and the tremendous growth of school district police departments."

Schools should be places of learning. Schools should be a refuge from the harsh realities of life. They shouldn't serve as a way station to the criminal (in)justice system.

See also:

"Majority of Texas middle and high school students suspended or expelled," Grits for Breakfast (July 19, 2011)
"Breaking Schools' Rules: A statewide study of how school discipline relates to students' success and juvenile justice involvement," The Council of State Governments

Reading, writing and citing

Add Texas State Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston) to the growing chorus of voices calling for school districts to stop issuing Class C misdemeanor citations to students for disrupting class and truancy.

According to Sen. Whitmire's op/ed in Friday morning's Houston Chronicle:

Despite evidence that Class C misdemeanor ticketing does little to change student behavior, the practice is widespread in our public schools. According to a recent report released by the public interest law center Texas Appleseed, more than 275,000 non-traffic tickets are issued annually to juveniles in Texas - many for low-level misbehavior commonly ticketed at school. 

Appleseed's research shows that minority and special education students, who are at greatest risk for school dropout, are being ticketed at higher rates for low-level, non-violent offenses. 

In a recent legislative address, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson made an important point: 

"More than 80 percent of adult prison inmates are school dropouts. Charging kids with criminal offenses for low-level behavioral issues exacerbates the problem." This is a warning worth heeding.

The problem is out of control in the Houston area. According to Sen. Whitmire, over a five-year period, Dallas ISD issued citations to 1,200 students while during the 2008-2009 school year alone, Houston ISD issued over 5,700 citations.

There is absolutely no need to drag young children into the criminal (in)justice center. If we stay on this path we are only socializing our children that their place is in the courtroom. It's time that school districts take back responsibility for disciplinary matters in schools. Schools should look at their behavior modification techniques and fine tune or change them if necessary. School district police should be trained to de-escalate situations instead of pulling out the ticket book. School districts should look to youth courts allowing peer-based solutions to behavioral problems.

Back to the schoolhouse

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Texas Appleseed report on school districts farming out their disciplinary problems to the criminal (in)justice system. It seems as if at least one state legislator, Armando Walle (D-Houston) paid attention to the report.

According to the Texas Tribune, Rep. Walle has introduced three bills regarding the ticketing of school children. One would allow students to pay their fines through community service or tutoring. The others would require school districts to keep data on the citations issued to students and would require school districts to offer specialized training for officers.

While these bills may be a first step in the right direction - they fall far short of fixing the problem.

If we are going to allow our schools to place juveniles in the criminal (in)justice system for misbehavior on campus, it should only happen for specific offenses such as fighting and possessing weapons or drugs.Disrupting class is much too vague a concept for a student to face criminal charges. Disrupting class is something that should be handled on campus through a suspension or detention program.

Fighting, on the other hand, is an actual criminal offense; as are possessing weapons or drugs.

Rep. Walle's proposals also fail to address the burden placed on parents when a school issues a citation to their child. A parent is required to accompany the child to court (while school is in session). Should the child be required to perform community service, the parents will be required to drive the child there and back again. If a fine is levied, guess who will be opening up the checkbook?

What happens if both parents work? What if one parent stays at home with younger children or older parents? The parent didn't do anything - yet the parent is being punished.

It is time we stop the outsourcing of discipline by schools. It's time school districts disclose to parents the consequences of ticketing students for disciplinary problems. It's time we stop looking for excuses to force people into the criminal (in)justice system.