May 13th 2024.
On May 7, a significant event took place in the state of Alabama. The House unanimously passed a bill known as SB157, also referred to as the Teachers Bill of Rights. This bill, which aims to address the issue of unruly students, received bipartisan support and is set to take effect during the 2024-2025 school year once it is signed into law by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey. While many lawmakers believe this is a step in the right direction, some Democratic legislators raised concerns about whether this bill truly provides the necessary protections for teachers.
As reported by the Alabama Reflector, the passing of this bill followed a lively debate in the Alabama House Education Policy Committee back in April. One of the concerns raised was a "two-strikes" policy included in the bill, which was expressed by Vic Wilson, the executive director of the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools. Another concern came from Randy Smalley, a Tuscaloosa County School Board member and district director for the Alabama Association of School Boards, who worried that this bill would take away control from local procedures and conflict with pending student due process bills that the association supports.
During the House vote, Rep. Thomas Jackson shared his belief that part of the issue lies with teachers who do not show respect towards their students. He shared his own experience working in an elementary school, where he observed that some teachers were not tolerant of little boys, specifically Black boys. However, he noted that the Black teachers did not seem to have any issues with these students. Another Democrat, Rep. Patrick Sellers, suggested that perhaps the removal of God from the school system is partly responsible for the disciplinary issues in Alabama schools, and he even hinted at the idea of bringing back corporal punishment. He shared that his wife, who deals with school discipline, has to face these challenges every day and believes that having someone in the school who can administer physical discipline would help.
The passing of this bill was a victory for lawmakers, who listened to the concerns of teachers about student discipline and took action. The Alabama Education Association, a teachers' union that advocated for this bill, reported several incidents of violence against teachers and a lack of action from school officials, which motivated them to push for its passage. This issue was also highlighted in a report released in February, titled "Only Young Once: Alabama's Overreliance on School Pushout and For-Profit Youth Incarceration." The report revealed that Alabama's use of juvenile detention centers disproportionately affects Black youth and costs taxpayers. Delvin Davis, a senior policy analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center and the report's author, drew a connection between the current situation and the past, citing the actions of Bull Connor, who also incarcerated young Black youth.
According to Davis, there are alternative community-based solutions that can divert children away from the court system and provide more rehabilitative support. He believes that the current system of incarceration only perpetuates the issue and does not focus on truly helping these young individuals. Instead, it separates them from their education and the services they need, leading to a higher chance of recidivism. It is crucial to address this issue and find better ways to support our youth and their education. After all, as former teacher and literacy advocate Patrick O'Connor said, America is not making a big enough deal about its current literacy crisis.
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