Pupil Discipline: Suspensions

Policy Evaluation Memo
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Policy Evaluation Memo
TO:
FROM: Kevin Argueta Flores, Jason Scott-Sheets, Diana Spiliotis, Tianxiang Xiao, Aiqu Wu
DATE: August 7th 2021
SUBJECT: Pupil Discipline: Suspensions: Willful Defiance (California SB 419)
Executive Summary
As drafted by Senator Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and signed by the Governor of California, SB 419 prohibits until July 1st 2025, the suspension of any pupil enrolled in a charter school in sixth through eighth grade because of disrupting school activities or willfully defying the valid authority of administrators, supervisors, teachers, school officials, or any other person engaged in the performance of school duties. By formulating the bill, Senator Nancy sought to encourage school principals and superintendents to provide alternatives to suspension or expulsion. According to the legislator, the provided alternatives provided by the latter group must use a research-based framework with strategies that improve pupil’s behavior and academic outcome in schools. During the presentation of the bill to the public, Senator Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, stated that the use of the Multi-Tiered System of Supports, which includes trauma-informed practices, restorative justice practices, social and emotional learning, will help pupils gain critical social and emotional skills, receive support to overcome trauma, help them understand the impact of their actions, and develop articulate strategies for repairing harm in the school community.
Policy Description
On September 9th 2019, the proposed bill by Senator Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, was signed into law. The law became effective in July 2020 and will expire on July 1st 2025. The law intends to extend the ban on willful defiance in schools located in California. By formulating this bill, the author aimed to expand the implementation of SB419 to 4-5th grade institutions and charter schools. The law is only applicable in schools located in California. By drafting the bill, Senator Nancy affirmed that punishment was disproportionately applied to specific student demographics. Besides, the Senator claimed that the overly harsh suspensions and expulsions negatively impacted students. Through this policy, Senator Nancy aimed to expand the current law by eliminating corporal punishment in schools for all demographics. The policy focuses on keeping the needs of children first rather than using punishments as the ideal discipline technique.
Content
According to Senator Nancy, the focus of SB 419 was to modify the disciplinary methods used by teachers in California to instill good moral behaviors. SB 419 modifies and suggests appropriate behaviors for suspension and expulsion. For example, the policy prevents punishment on minors, trivial behaviors, such as foot-tapping, dress code violation, and falling asleep during class time. The primary objective of this objective is to 1 keep students in school, 2 increase student success rates, and 3 increase high school graduation rates (Skinner, 2019). Besides, the policy aims to 5 encourage alternative means of discipline (suspension/expulsions) (Now, 2014; Ortlieb, 2014) and 6 redress disparities in punishment rates for specific demographics: African American, foster, special needs, and LGBTQ students (Aguilar, 2020; Clauss-Ehlers et al., 2020).
Implementation Evaluation Design
Stakeholders: The stakeholders incorporated in the implementation of this policy are students, teachers, administrators, parents, and districts.
Evaluation: The implementation evaluation will primarily focus on addressing challenges in the California education sector ...