Talkback: Should LAUSD stop suspending kids for ‘willful defiance?’

An effort is underway in Los Angeles County to push a landmark proposal by school board President Monica Garcia that would make L.A. Unified the first school district in California to ban suspensions for willful defiance.

That offense is now widely criticized as an arbitrary catchall for any behavior a teacher finds objectionable, such as repeatedly tapping feet on the floor, refusing to remove a hat or failing to wear a school uniform. It accounted for 48% of 710,000 suspensions issued in California in 2011-12, prompting both state and local efforts to restrict its use in disciplinary actions.

Passage of the resolution, which is scheduled for a vote by the L.A. school board Tuesday, would mark a watershed moment in a long battle by community activists against “zero tolerance” policies adopted after the Columbine school shooting in Colorado in 1999, Los Angeles Times education writer Teresa Watanabe reported Monday.

“This will be a transformational shift,” said Tonna Onyendu of the Liberty Hill Foundation, a Los Angeles nonprofit that is coordinating the campaign for the Garcia proposal, along with more than a dozen other groups. “Instead of punishing students, we’re going to engage them.”

Not all educators support efforts to restrict their disciplinary authority — and, citing similar concerns, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill last year that would have barred the expulsion or suspension of defiant students. Sergio Garcia, principal at Artesia High School in Lakewood, said administrators should have wide discretion in how to handle disruptive students, whom he said studies have shown reduce classroom learning time 25%.

“To remove the tool we have that allows other kids to learn is the wrong direction,” Sergio Garcia said.

Damien Valentine, a Manual Arts Senior High School sophomore, has been suspended several times since seventh grade, when he was sent home for a day and a half for refusing to change his seat because he was talking. He said the suspensions never helped him learn to control his behavior but only made him fall further behind.

“Getting suspended doesn’t solve anything,” Valentine said. “It just ruins the rest of the day and keeps you behind.”

What do you think? Should LAUSD change its policies on suspending students for “willful defiance?” Or is it a much-needed discretionary tool for educators? Tell us what you think by commenting on this post -- or tweet us your thoughts @lanow.

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