Palm Beach County school board applauds proposed new discipline policies, notes more work is needed
By Allison Ross
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
The Palm Beach County School Board applauded the efforts of the school district to update its discipline policies Wednesday, while noting that much more needs to be done to change the culture of the school district to cut down on suspensions and other issues.
District officials unveiled a draft of a new code of student conduct policies to the board during a workshop and special meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Keith Oswald, assistant superintendent of curriculum and learning support, called the revised policies “his baby” and said he’s excited to see the district use research-based strategies and data to help schools deal with discipline and cut down on suspensions.
The changes to the discipline policies also stem in part from a 2009 settlement following a federal complaint that the district was too often suspending students who were emotionally or behaviorally disabled.
Part of that settlement required the district to develop and implement a “Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports” program, and to revise its discipline plan and code of student conduct to focus more on behavioral interventions.
At the end of the presentation, school board vice-chairwoman Debra Robinson applauded the district for its efforts to revamp its discipline policies to more proactively help students instead of automatically disciplining them.
She added with a smile, “I also want to thank the people who sued us to get us here.”
Other board members also heralded the plan, with school board member Jenny Prior Brown saying she thinks this will help “reshape the culture of the district in the direction we want to go.”
Still, concerns were raised about how well the proposed changes would be implemented by individual schools, teachers or principals.
The discussion about the district’s discipline practices come as the U.S. Department of Justice investigates a complaint about how the district handles suspensions of students who struggle to speak English.
On Monday, a trial attorney with the department’s Civil Rights Division visited the district and offered a number of suggestions that will be added to later versions of the policies, said Laura Pincus, a deputy counsel with the district. The district had sent its proposed policy to that attorney for her input, Pincus said.
The department’s recommendations included adding language ensuring that parents of students who get suspended are given information about the suspension in their native language.
“It’s about making sure we’re recognizing our obligations to our students who are English-language learners,” Pincus said.
District officials unveiled a draft of a new code of student conduct policies to the board during a workshop and special meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Keith Oswald, assistant superintendent of curriculum and learning support, called the revised policies “his baby” and said he’s excited to see the district use research-based strategies and data to help schools deal with discipline and cut down on suspensions.
The changes to the discipline policies also stem in part from a 2009 settlement following a federal complaint that the district was too often suspending students who were emotionally or behaviorally disabled.
Part of that settlement required the district to develop and implement a “Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports” program, and to revise its discipline plan and code of student conduct to focus more on behavioral interventions.
At the end of the presentation, school board vice-chairwoman Debra Robinson applauded the district for its efforts to revamp its discipline policies to more proactively help students instead of automatically disciplining them.
She added with a smile, “I also want to thank the people who sued us to get us here.”
Other board members also heralded the plan, with school board member Jenny Prior Brown saying she thinks this will help “reshape the culture of the district in the direction we want to go.”
Still, concerns were raised about how well the proposed changes would be implemented by individual schools, teachers or principals.
The discussion about the district’s discipline practices come as the U.S. Department of Justice investigates a complaint about how the district handles suspensions of students who struggle to speak English.
On Monday, a trial attorney with the department’s Civil Rights Division visited the district and offered a number of suggestions that will be added to later versions of the policies, said Laura Pincus, a deputy counsel with the district. The district had sent its proposed policy to that attorney for her input, Pincus said.
The department’s recommendations included adding language ensuring that parents of students who get suspended are given information about the suspension in their native language.
“It’s about making sure we’re recognizing our obligations to our students who are English-language learners,” Pincus said.
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