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SUNDAY FOCUS: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE A question of punishment Expulsions and suspensions may do more harm than good, officials say Comment By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM No more zero-tolerance --> Prior to the passage of House Bill 2192, a student found on a school campus with a dangerous or deadly weapon, firearm or destructive device — no matter the student's intent —... » Read more X No more zero-tolerance Prior to the passage of House Bill 2192, a student found on a school campus with a dangerous or deadly weapon, firearm or destructive device — no matter the student's intent — had to be expelled for a minimum of one year. Weapons included, but were not limited to, slingshots, crossbows, bows and arrows, pellet or air-soft guns, BB guns, knives, metal knuckles, razors, poisons and noxious or irritating gases. Legislators have since removed the zero-tolerance language regarding weapons from the state’s discipline code and have limited expulsions to the following circumstances: A student brings a firearm on campus. A student’s conduct threatens the health or safety of others. The school’s attempts to change a student’s conduct using other strategies are ineffective. It is required by law. » Social News Aubruceya Hamm, a straight-A student at Eagle Point High School, was expelled last April after school staff found a stun gun in her purse. Hamm and two of her friends had been walking back to school after hanging out at her mom’s house when they were approached by Rick Bender, an EPHS disciplinarian, and two other school employees who were following up on reports that students had been smoking marijuana on campus. Bender searched their things and discovered the stun gun, which Hamm regularly carried for her protection at the recommendation of her mom, who bought it for her. Bender knew Hamm to be a good student and understood she had no intent to harm anyone. Nonetheless, the state’s discipline code mandated that any student caught with a weapon of any kind be expelled for no less than one year. “She’s a great kid,” Bender said. “She had several teachers who even wrote letters, and even though we looked at that and knew that, we still had to expel her. “If that had happened this year, we wouldn't have had to.” House Bill 2192, which went into effect July 1, 2014, revised the state’s school discipline code, removing zero-tolerance language and allowing administrators more discretion in disciplining students. It was designed to reduce the number of unnecessary suspensions and expulsions and to encourage administrators to consider the student’s intent and utilize alternative approaches to correcting behavior. In recent years, educators, legislators and youth advocates statewide have realized that rigid expulsion and suspension policies don’t produce safer schools and hinder a student’s academic success by reducing the amount of instruction they receive. As a result of increased awareness, the number of suspensions statewide dropped nearly 35 percent and the number of expulsions dropped nearly 33 percent between 2007-08 and 2013-14. Now, only firearms warrant a mandatory one-year expulsion sentence. Under Oregon law, school administrators also maintain the authority to expel students whose conduct threatens others’ health or safety or who continue to exhibit bad behavior despite the school’s efforts to correct it. Mark McKechnie, executive director of Youth, Rights & Justice, a Portland-based law firm, calculated that about 84 out of every 1,000 Oregon K-12 students had been suspended out of school or expelled in 2011, compared with 14 out of every 1,000 students in the New York City school system. According to an American Academy of Pediatrics report, students who have been suspended or expelled are nearly 10 times more likely to drop out of school. However, students in schools using Behavioral Interventions and Supports, in lieu of exclusionary discipline, receive higher grades, do better on tests and have better attendance rates, McKechnie said in a letter to the Senate Committee on Education and Workforce in May 2013. As a follow-up to HB 2192, Senate Bill 553, sponsored by Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, will be considered in this legislative session. The bill would prohibit out-of-school suspensions and expulsions for children under 12 years old, except for violent acts or threats of violence. “Young kids can get frustrated and say something that they don’t mean,” said McKechnie, who helped draft this bill as well as HB 2192. “Maybe it’s something they heard at home or on a TV show, but the school would have to look at whether the student had the ability and intent to carry out that threat.” In response to HB 2192, the Medford School Board on Monday adopted an amended weapons policy similar to those adopted earlier in the school year by neighboring school districts. The words “dangerous or deadly weapon” and “destructive device” were removed from the policy, which now reads: “Students found to have brought, possessed, concealed, or used a firearm in violation of this policy or state law shall be expelled for a period of not less than one year.” The new policy gives administrators some latitude in determining appropriate disciplinary action, said Todd Bloomquist, the district’s director of secondary education. Several years ago, a Medford student was expelled for leaving hunting equipment in his car after a weekend hunting trip, Bloomquist said. “We had to tell him, 'Sorry, but because of how the law is phrased, we have to expel you for 12 months,’ ” Bloomquist said. While weapons do account for a small percentage of expulsions, local administrators said drugs, fights and insubordination are some of the most common reasons kids are getting expelled. This year, 60 percent of the expulsions at North and all of the expulsions at South were drug-related, according to Natalie Hurd, the district’s spokeswoman. Districts are required by the state to provide two options for students who have been expelled. In Medford, students can be placed at another school if they are not a risk to others, enroll in charter school, attend classes at the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center or receive home-bound instruction from a tutor for one hour a day, five days a week, Bloomquist said. For a first drug offense, a student may receive a 10-day suspension that could be reduced to a five-day suspension if he or she sees an OnTrack counselor, said North Medford Principal Ron Beick. Students with a history of drug offenses or caught dealing on campus most likely will be expelled, he said. Depending on how egregious the incident, an interdisciplinary team of administrators reviews evidence and video footage, if it’s available, has a conversation with the family and determines the consequence. A student could be suspended for one to 10 days for fighting or disrespectful behavior and expelled for six months to a year for more serious crimes, Bloomquist said. School-based mental health interventionists are sometimes able to identify and address bad attitudes before they surface, and the presence of school resource officers on campus has greatly reduced the number of altercations, Beick said. In recent years, the Phoenix-Talent School District has increased its efforts to discover issues before they become incidents and to create effective behavior and support systems at each school. “We don’t ignore issues,” said Superintendent Teresa Sayre. “We spend a lot of time and energy finding ways to help students be successful. Suspension doesn't solve a problem. Expulsion doesn't solve a problem. Support systems solve a problem.” Thanks to the district’s support systems, only 186 students were suspended and none expelled in 2013-14, compared with 243 suspensions and five expulsions in 2007-08. “The chances of a student getting back on track after being suspended or expelled greatly diminishes,” Sayre said. After being expelled, Hamm took online classes and EPHS classes through the Upper Rogue Center for Educational Opportunity. But she missed out on some instruction while still being expected to perform as well as everyone sitting in class. This year, because of the change in legislation and her good grades, Hamm was allowed to return to EPHS, where she had to play catch-up. She is now ranked 18th in her class of 244. “If I hadn't been as ahead in school as I was, it would have been that much more difficult,” she said Wednesday. “I didn't think they’d really expel me." Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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