The emergence and rapid spread of COVID-19 brought seismic changes that closed businesses and schools across the country. Without the ability to teach in person, educators scrambled to find creative ways to conduct classes online. The switch to online learning caused unique stresses among teachers, students and families.

Educators and policymakers have predominantly focused their efforts on finding solutions for providing remote instruction, helping students who lack access to the technology necessary to learn online, and all the other essential community services schools typically provide. Unfortunately, any meaningful discussion about COVID-19’s effects on school discipline has largely fallen by the wayside.

School Discipline in the COVID-19 Era

Under typical circumstances, most infractions that constitute grounds for expulsion involve behavior that takes place on school property – such as using tobacco products on campus or bringing a weapon to class. However, despite the switch to a virtual environment, where on-campus rule violations are impossible, some schools and school districts still require students to serve suspensions and expulsions.

For example, one fourth-grader in Louisiana faced expulsion after his teacher noticed a BB gun in his room during online class. The school later amended the expulsion to a six-day suspension after the family’s attorney successfully argued that events taking place in a private home are different from those that happen on campus, and that school policies needed an update to reflect that.

Are We Overdue to Reform School Disciplinary Measures?

Controversy about school discipline was prevalent even before the pandemic forced students, teachers and parents to adapt to distance learning. For example, a 2020 report from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the UCLA Civil Rights Project and the Learning Policy Institute found that K-12 students from coast to coast missed out on a total of 11 million instructional days in a single academic year due to out-of-school suspension.

The same report highlighted alarming racial disparities in school suspension data, pointing to the fact that students of color miss significantly more instructional days due to suspensions than their white classmates. This phenomenon occurs nationwide, suggesting the need for reform. Citing the adverse effects of school push-outs on students, a coalition of organizations wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom in April 2020 to request that he issue a moratorium on school expulsions during the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the need to reevaluate a host of societal issues, from our health care system to our work/life balance. Perhaps the additional attention paid to school discipline during virtual learning will lead officials to rethink their outdated suspension and expulsion policies, with a specific focus on how these disciplinary methods impact some of the most vulnerable students.

What to Do If Your Student Faces Expulsion

In California, your student may be subject to expulsion for making an impulsive adolescent decision. At the Law Offices of Katie Walsh, we help families avoid disciplinary actions that could have far-reaching repercussions on their child’s future. As a former prosecutor, Katie Walsh has handled thousands of juvenile cases. If you need the expertise of a knowledgeable Southern California school expulsion attorney, contact us today to schedule a free, confidential consultation.

At The Law Offices of Katie Walsh, we hope that everyone had a peaceful holiday season, and we would like to wish you a happy New Year. We felt it prudent to use the first post of 2020 to discuss some of the new legislation that went into effect this year, particularly laws that impact school children.

There are many new California school laws to talk about; 12 in fact, and we will do our best to give you a summary of the changes in 2020. Naturally, we cannot cover each new law in great detail in one post; instead, we will focus on some of the most salient.

From legislation regarding willful defiance suspensions to an overhaul of the state’s charter school system, Governor Gavin Newsom signed some important laws last year that will affect millions of young people across the Golden State.

As CalMatters reports, the most significant set of changes involve Charter Schools: a school category that receives government funding but doesn’t operate within the established state school system. Such schools are typically established by teachers, parents, or community groups.

Three new laws – Assembly Bill 1505, Assembly Bill 1507, and Senate Bill 126 – deal specifically with California charter schools. Teachers at charter schools are now required to hold a state teaching credential, the Times of San Diego reports. Local school boards also have more significant discretion in approving or denying charter schools. What’s more, charters must follow the same open-meeting laws as school districts.

Willful Defiance Suspensions, Domestic Violence, and Sexual Harassment

We have covered Senate Bill 419: Pupil discipline: suspensions: willful defiance on multiple occasions. As we pointed out, Senator Nancy Skinner’s SB 419 would have banned out-of-school suspensions for “defiant and disruptive behavior” for grades K-12.

The final version of the bill, signed by Gov. Newsom in September, permanently bans California public schools from suspending students K-5 for willful defiance. The bill also includes a five-year temporary provision extending the ban to include students in sixth through eighth grade.

Studies indicate that willful defiance school suspensions and expulsions disproportionately impact black, LGBTQ, and disabled students. Sen. Skinner said:

“When you look at the data on who is suspended, you can’t help but see the stark reality. Boys of color, kids in special education, LGBTQ kids — kids who don’t fit all of our cultural norms — are targeted due to the implicit bias that we know is present in every institution we have.”

In October, SB 316 goes into effect; the law requires that high schools print the phone number for the national domestic violence hotline or a local domestic violence hotline on pupil identification cards. Assembly Bill 543 requires public high schools to “prominently and conspicuously display” a poster of a district’s sexual harassment policy in every high school restroom and locker room, according to the article. The sign must also include steps for reporting sexual harassment accusations.

Orange County Juvenile Defense and School Expulsion Attorney

If your son or daughter is facing expulsion in California, then it is vital for you to reach out for a qualified attorney who can advocate for your family. Navigating the school expulsion process is a daunting task; having an experienced defense attorney could lead to alternatives to expulsion.

Attorney Katie Walsh understands what you are going through and will work tirelessly to safeguard your child’s rights. Please contact The Law Offices of Katie Walsh today for a free consultation. (714) 351-0178.

While it might be hard for some people to fathom elementary school students being suspended for not cooperating in class, it’s a common occurrence in California. Each year, thousands of kids are removed from the classroom for what is known as disruption and willful defiance. We have written about this subject on numerous occasions.

On this blog, we have also covered some of the potential consequences of class removals at a young age. Whenever a student isn’t in class, they are at significant risk of getting into more trouble. The school-to-prison pipeline starts with suspension and expulsion.

In recent years, several lawmakers have worked tirelessly to enact laws that would protect young and vulnerable students. Statistics show that minorities and youths with disabilities are suspended and expelled at far higher rates than their white peers.

The ultimate goal is to ban school suspensions for “defiant and disruptive behavior” in grades K-12. However, the effort has been met with significant pushback, forcing lawmakers to amend their legislative proposals to cater to the wishes of the opposition.

One bill that we have discussed frequently is Senate Bill 419. It is already against the law to suspend K-3 students for defiant and disruptive behavior; SB 419 would expand on that to include grades 4 through 8.

Governor Newsom Signs Senate Bill 419

On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 419, The Sacramento Bee reports. Effective July 1, 2020, SB 419 ends the practice of willful defiance suspensions in grades four and five. The same is true in grades six through eight but only for a five-year provisional period.

The author of the bill, Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, said that SB 419 would “keep kids in school where they belong and where teachers and counselors can help them thrive.” She added that the bill “may be one of the best ways to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline.”

Naturally, the signing of SB 419 was lauded by civil rights activists, including Dolores Huerta. The labor leader, civil rights activist, and awardee of the United States Presidential Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights and the Presidential Medal of Freedom said:

“I strongly believe that SB 419 will bring justice to California youth by eliminating suspensions for disruption and defiance, putting an end to discriminatory discipline policies and instituting restorative justice practices.”

Please take a moment to watch a short video on the subject here.

California School Discipline Attorney

Please reach out to The Law Offices of Katie Walsh for a free consultation if your child is facing expulsion from school. Attorney Walsh has extensive experience in these matters and can negotiate with your child’s school district. Mrs. Walsh can also represent your family at the school expulsion hearing. She will advocate for your child and fight for alternatives to expulsion.

Restorative justice is on the minds of educators in California who seek to reduce student suspensions and expulsions. The goal is to keep youths in the classroom whenever it is possible to do so—the days of removing kids from class for disruption and defiance seem to be largely a thing of the past.

Many large school districts up and down the state have histories of disproportionately suspending and expelling minorities and youths with learning disabilities. The data reveals that such demographics are removed from class at exponentially higher rates than their white counterparts.

Several legislative reforms have led educators to adopt new approaches to dealing with students who act up or get in trouble. Programs were established in the Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Diego Unified School Districts that utilize alternatives to traditional methods of school discipline.

In 2006, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) became the first to implement a restorative justice program, EdSource reports. Restorative justice coordinators and facilitators work with teachers and students to resolve conflicts in a manner that does not involve removing children from school. The program has served as a model for other school districts across the country and other countries.

Naturally, programs like the one in Oakland and others cost a significant amount of money to facilitate. Recent budget cuts may undermine the effectiveness of Oakland’s restorative justice program or jeopardize it altogether.

Funding Restorative Justice

“In recent years, OUSD has made significant strides in changing the prevailing paradigm of punishment and exclusion in response to real or perceived student misconduct,” states a report from the Executive Office of the President – December 2016. “These gains reflect deep structural changes at both the district and school site level resulting from more positive, restorative and trauma-informed responses to student behavior.”

The OUSD program’s future was put in jeopardy due to the school district’s proposed budget cuts announced earlier this year. Fortunately, the program’s achievements have not gone unnoticed, and the city and private backers have stepped lend support. State data shows that suspensions fell in Oakland by 48 percent between the 2011-12 and 2017-18 school years.

The city of Oakland issued a one-time $690,000 grant to fund the program for the 2019-20 school year, according to the article. Various foundations and philanthropists have also contributed to the effort.

There are no guarantees the program will be funded in the future, says David Yusem, Oakland Unified’s restorative justice coordinator. He adds that “We need to make adjustments based on the current fiscal reality.” Yusem points out that the program may need to be altered to compensate for funding cuts.

“We are just beginning to have those meetings,” Yusem said. “We’re taking stock and sort of going from there in terms of where are our priorities and how we can hit them while having less money.”

It’s likely that Los Angeles and San Diego Unified School Districts will face similar challenges in the coming years.

California School Discipline Attorney

If your child is facing difficulties at school and is at risk of expulsion, then please contact the Law Office of Katie Walsh. Juvenile Defense attorney Walsh can represent your child in many ways and advocate for the needs of your family.