CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia bill that would provide public school teachers with a framework for removing kindergarten and elementary school students from classrooms for serious misconduct is on Republican Gov. Jim Justice’s desk.
The measure cleared the final hurdle for passage in the Senate on Saturday, passing almost unanimously after years of back-and-forth between lawmakers and the Department of Education over school discipline and behavioral issues among children with trauma and adverse experiences at home. It was adopted by the House on Friday.
One in four children lives below the poverty line in West Virginia, the state with the highest rate of opioid overdoses. In some school districts, more than 70% are being raised by grandparents, other relatives or guardians because their parents cannot care for them.
A study by the state Department of Education found that one in four students in foster care were suspended from school during the 2021-2022 school year. The study also found that students with disabilities and Black students were disproportionately disciplined compared to their white peers, with one in five Black children suspended from school that year.
Under the bill, a teacher can remove students from a classroom if their behavior is “violent, threatening, or intimidating toward staff or fellow students, creates an unsafe learning environment, or interferes with the ability of other students to learn in a safe environment.”
The students are then placed in a behavioral intervention program where they can receive additional support and guidance. If such a program is not available, they will be sent home and a parent or guardian will be required to pick them up. If no one responds and after all emergency contacts have been exhausted, the police may be called.
Currently, disruptive students are sent to the principal, who decides on possible disciplinary action. The bill gives teachers more power and sets clearer standards for how such behavior should be dealt with.
Republican Del. Elliott Pritt of Fayette County, who is also a teacher, said he supports the bill and that some students in his county are afraid to go to school because of “the extreme behavior of their fellow classmates.”
“If a student has been violent, shown violent tendencies, threatened a teacher or other students, they should not be on the bus home – their parents should show up to pick them up,” he said.
Pritt said teachers care deeply about their students, but increasingly they are being asked to step outside their job description and take on roles for which they are not trained.
“How much do we expect from our schools? As a teacher, I am expected to teach. I am expected to raise these children. I am expected to discipline these children. I am expected to guide these children. I’m expected to feed them. I’m expected to give them clothes. I am expected to give them everything they need in life,” he said. “What are the parents responsible for?”
Cabell County Democratic Del. Sean Hornbuckle, who is among a small group of Black lawmakers in the state Legislature who voted against the bill, reminded his colleagues of the Department of Education’s finding that foster children, children with disabilities and minority students are disproportionately affected would become.
In remarks before the vote, he said the bill is incomplete “if we don’t start talking about the issues we see in the classroom,” such as mental health issues and poor academic performance.
“We have to make sure we do better,” Hornbuckle said.
Kanawha County Democratic Del. Mike Pushkin, who also opposed the bill, said lawmakers have known for years that societal problems lead to this extreme behavior and are only addressing the symptoms rather than taking action that could address the root causes.
“Unfortunately, if the bill has a price tag on it, it won’t get through certain committees,” he said. “Far too many of us know the cost of everything, but the value of absolutely nothing. I wish we could actually address the real problem. And that requires setting priorities.”
