California students can no longer be suspended for 'willful defiance'. Could nationwide change be ne

[Jilly_in_VA]

California students can no longer be suspended for ‘willful defiance’. Could nationwide change be next?

More than a decade ago, when he was a teacher and school counselor, Amir Whitaker was called into a Los Angeles classroom to support a student in a disciplinary situation. A Black girl had been humming in one of his white colleague’s classes. His fellow teacher, Whitaker said, had asked the student to stop humming to no avail.

Eventually, the student was recommended for suspension for “defiance” – a broad, subjective category that, under the California education code, meant a student “disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully defied the valid authority” of teachers, administrators and other school officials. Whitaker later learned the girl hummed to regulate her ADHD.

Years later, in 2021, Whitaker found himself in a similar situation. He had since become the senior policy counsel for the ACLU of Southern California, and was asked by a Black family to intervene at a different school where their young relative had been disciplined for drumming at his desk. “The [school’s] initial response was still punitive,” Whitaker said. “With some conversations, we were able to redirect.” By then, Whitaker could point to examples that showed officials didn’t need to resort to punishment when a student’s behavior appeared disruptive: several California districts, including Los Angeles Unified, had banned willful defiance suspensions. The school, he said, had a social worker who could talk to and support the student, who, in the end, avoided suspension.

At least 25 states and the District of Columbia allow schools to suspend students for “willful defiance”, according to the LawAtlas Project’s Policy Surveillance Portal. This week, California became the first state in the US to ban such suspensions for all students, expanding a pre-existing ban on the disciplinary practice for students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. The new law, signed by the governor, Gavin Newsom, last Sunday, could represent a model for how other states approach reforming disciplinary practices, which disproportionately affect Black and Latino students, as well as those with disabilities and those from low-income backgrounds.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/oct/14/california-gavin-newsom-student-suspensions-willful-defiance

Seems like a very broad charge, for one thing. I mean, define "willful defiance" for starters.

[MutantAndProud]

1. They need to stop coercive mental health care models as well

California was supposed to be a beacon of progressive care. Instead… billionaire NIMBYs run amok locking up and punishing anyone they don’t like or just for fun and control, no better than if Orange County were the seat of power…

[stopdiggin]

2. and this way leads chaos ...

while all can sympathize with an ADHD child that is trying to deal with their situation ... Let's also take a look at the multitude of instances where plain old defiance of the rules, anti-social behavior, and repeated and intentional (and sometimes physical) disruption is the point - and not merely the product of some shortcoming or misunderstanding. What then? I know - we'll just relabel intentional rule breaking and willful defiance as - something else! Further restrict and undercut the teachers, and ... And that will surely enhance the classroom learning environment - by leaps and starts! What could possibly go wrong?

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[hunter]

3. Punishment is useless.

It only works on people who have been trained since birth to accept punishment.

Practically speaking, the most disruptive kids don't see suspension as any kind of punishment and this has a very negative impact on their education whenever they are suspended.

Don't imagine these suspended kids are at home feeling miserable and suffering for their trespasses. The reality is they are celebrating their temporary freedom.

If a kid is disruptive in one class, for whatever reason, it's our obligation as parents and as a society to find another place for them, a place where they might thrive.

Personally speaking, one of my ordinary states of mind is "willfully defiant." I can't remember otherwise. I'm happy arguing with God but he regularly refuses my invites.

It's quite possible that if I wasn't born a privileged semi-functional autistic spectrum white guy I'd be dead or in prison.

In school I knew I was there to learn stuff. If I didn't feel I was learning stuff I could be disruptive.

I didn't figure out school until I'd been "asked" twice to take time outs in college, the underlying threat being permanent expulsion. I've had some work experiences like that as well.