School Discipline Review On Hold In Colorado
DENVER (CBS4/AP) - A plan to review whether Colorado schools are too quick to send unruly students to police is on hold as Colorado senators worry how much the discipline review would cost.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held off on a decision Tuesday on a Democratic bill to review school discipline.
A legislative projection said the review could cost the state almost $200,000 over the next two years in extra staff time. The governor, meanwhile, has proposed $332 million in budget cuts for schools.
Democratic Sen. Evie Hudak is a sponsor of the measure and says senators are working on a change to make the review less costly. Backers say it's needed because small-time disciplinary matters are too often referred to police, and that students of color sometimes receive stricter punishments than white students.
Brandon Wagoner is junior at South High School in Denver. He is a good student with a 3.8 grade point average. A couple of weeks ago, after an argument with other students in the hall, he got in trouble.
"I was kind of yelling, in which the dean came over and escorted me downstairs." Wagoner told CBS4.
He was taken to the principal's office where a police officer was waiting. He was ticketed and suspended for the rest of the day.
Marco Nunez with Padres Unidos wants to change that kind of punishment. Nuzez and lawmakers are pushing Senate Bill 113, asking for research on schools overusing suspensions, arrests and police-issued tickets.
"Once you introduce law enforcement, that leads to other consequences for families and students," Nunez said.
In the last 10 years nearly 100,000 students in Colorado have been referred to law enforcement. A majority have been for minor offenses.
"There was a student that knocked a knick knack off his teacher's desk and was charged with criminal mischief," Nunez said. "There was a student that took gum from his teacher and charged with theft."
Since 2008 Denver Public Schools has implemented what they call "restorative justice" instead of suspending a student. They provide work with the student and address the problem. Out-of-school suspensions are down by a third.
Lawmakers hope other districts learn from DPS and find a more uniformed way of dealing with problems in the schools.
Lawmakers say threatening behavior should still be taken seriously and action should be taken, but there should be a little more leeway for minor offenses.
Read Senate Bill 113
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A plan to review whether Colorado schools are too quick to send unruly students to police is on hold as Colorado senators worry how much the discipline review would cost.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held off on a decision Tuesday on a Democratic bill to review school discipline.
A legislative projection said the review could cost the state almost $200,000 over the next two years in extra staff time. The governor, meanwhile, has proposed $332 million in budget cuts for schools.
Democratic Sen. Evie Hudak is a sponsor of the measure and says senators are working on a change to make the review less costly. Backers say it's needed because small-time disciplinary matters are too often referred to police, and that students of color sometimes receive stricter punishments than white students.
Brandon Wagoner is junior at South High School in Denver. He is a good student with a 3.8 grade point average. A couple of weeks ago, after an argument with other students in the hall, he got in trouble.
"I was kind of yelling, in which the dean came over and escorted me downstairs." Wagoner told CBS4.
He was taken to the principal's office where a police officer was waiting. He was ticketed and suspended for the rest of the day.
Marco Nunez with Padres Unidos wants to change that kind of punishment. Nuzez and lawmakers are pushing Senate Bill 113, asking for research on schools overusing suspensions, arrests and police-issued tickets.
"Once you introduce law enforcement, that leads to other consequences for families and students," Nunez said.
In the last 10 years nearly 100,000 students in Colorado have been referred to law enforcement. A majority have been for minor offenses.
"There was a student that knocked a knick knack off his teacher's desk and was charged with criminal mischief," Nunez said. "There was a student that took gum from his teacher and charged with theft."
Since 2008 Denver Public Schools has implemented what they call "restorative justice" instead of suspending a student. They provide work with the student and address the problem. Out-of-school suspensions are down by a third.
Lawmakers hope other districts learn from DPS and find a more uniformed way of dealing with problems in the schools.
Lawmakers say threatening behavior should still be taken seriously and action should be taken, but there should be a little more leeway for minor offenses.
