Senate committee split on school discipline recommendations
A state senate committee report on ways to improve Georgia’s student discipline policies has been stalled as Republicans on the committee refuse to sign the report and question its recommendations.
Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, who led the five-member Senate study committee on school discipline, gave a 10-page draft report Tuesday to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Proposals in it include repealing a state statute that authorizes school districts to refuse to enroll a youth who has been indicted or convicted of a felony.
Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta, said he would not sign the report because the committee never discussed as a group what should be in it. He also said the report lacked enough data to support some of its findings.
“I question the lack of validation of some of the opinions in the report,” said Tippins, chairman of the senate’s Education and Youth committee.
The report mentions “disparities across the state as to how local school systems discipline our students.” An AJC investigation in January found 57 percent of students expelled and 67 percent of students given out-of-school suspensions were black. Thirty-seven percent of Georgia public school students are black.
Jones said he worried that racial discrimination is sometimes a factor in how discipline is meted out. Tippins said he was concerned about “inflammatory” language that suggests discrimination is behind the disparity. He wants more data that details who’s committing disciplinary infractions.
Jones said he asked Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, the Senate’s presiding officer, at the end of November for a 30-day extension to file the report to give other committee members more time to review the findings and discuss them. He laughed at complaints that the report lacked details.
“They’re in denial,” Jones said of the Republican lawmakers.
The other Republican senators on the committee, Bill Heath and John Wilkinson, did not return requests for comment Wednesday. The other Democrat on the committee, Hardie Davis, is the mayor-elect of Augusta.
Jones said he’d draft legislation based on some recommendations and seek a meeting with Gov. Nathan Deal to find areas of agreement.
The student discipline committee was created in March in response to concerns about the high rate of expulsions in some Georgia school districts and its impact on students. Jones cited state research that found Georgia third-graders and eighth-graders who’ve been suspended for 10 days or more are less likely to earn a high school diploma.
Jones said the goal of repealing the statute on felonies would be to help students convicted of nonviolent felonies, or who’ve had their charges dismissed.
Youths convicted or charged with violent felonies, he noted, can still get a high school diploma when they are sent to state Department of Juvenile Justice facilities.
So, for those whose offenses are not violent, “It shouldn’t be a lifetime sentence,” Jones said.
Another major change Jones’ report recommends would require impartial officers not affiliated with the school district or its counsel to conduct disciplinary hearings. The report says there are virtually no state-level mandates outlining the qualifications of hearing officers.
Jones also wants school districts to provide alternative programs or areas where students can still learn if they’ve been suspended. Jones said the money for more such programs could come largely from school districts saving money on legal fees in disciplinary hearings.
Other recommendations include giving students who’ve been suspended or expelled for one year an opportunity to receive make-up school work while they’re away from the classroom.
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
