California Bill Creates Permission Slip for ‘Willful Defiance’ of Teachers, Staff

{snip} Last week, the state Senate approved a bill to prohibit schools from suspending students who engage in “willful defiance” of teachers and other school authorities and staff. This permission slip for disruptive and even dangerous behavior also extends to the disruption of school activities.

The bill’s author and those who support it cite racial disparity as the driving reason for the ban. CBS Sacramento reported, “African-American students made up 5.6% of enrollment in California schools in 2017-18, but accounted for 15.6% of willful defiance suspensions. Conversely, white students made up 23.2% of statewide enrollment but made up only 20.2% of willful defiance suspensions.”

In other words, the implication is that the underlying reason for the disparity is racism. Yet, it’s the teachers and principals on the front line who make the decisions about who should be suspended. Is the State of California saying its teachers are racist? {snip}

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