Elementary student discipline bill passes WV House after tweaks get most lawmakers on board

Yahoo

04-03-2025

Del. Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, speaks about a bill that would give elementary teachers more authority to remove disruptive and violent students. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
The West Virginia House of Delegates overwhelmingly approved a bill Monday that would give elementary teachers more authority to remove disruptive and violent students.
The measure, which failed to pass last year, is a response to teachers asking lawmakers for help in dealing with a growing problem of school discipline. Violent attacks on teachers are occurring most commonly in kindergarten classrooms, leading many educators to say these children have been victims of child abuse and/or the state's substance abuse crisis.
'House Bill 2515 specifies the requirements for when a grade kindergarten through sixth teacher determines that the behavior of a student is violent, threatening or intimidating toward staff or peers, or creates an unsafe learning environment or impedes on other students' ability to learn in a safe environment,' said House Education Committee Chair Joe Ellington, R-Mercer.
If the student is removed from a classroom a total of three times in one month for disruptive behaviors, the principal would determine if the student receives in- or out-of-school suspension or 'may be considered for placement in an alternative learning center if one is available within the school district.'
The measure has faced criticism that too many expelled students would be forced to learn online at home because fewer than half of the state's 55 counties have alternate learning centers.
House members have edited the bill over the last week; it now calls on counties to create alternative learning centers to address the behaviors of chronically disruptive students.
It still does not come with proposed funding to build those centers or hire additional staff in schools.
While some House Republicans have promised a forthcoming bill on resources for school mental health resources, Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said that funding should have come first during the session. The bill passed the House 92-4; Pushkin voted against it.
'I certainly understand the need for this type of bill … and I do appreciate that this is a better bill than we had last year,' he said. 'My concern is, without the appropriate resources, there's still gonna be a lot of kids to fall through the cracks. The resource should have come first. We're not addressing the underlying issues.'
Pushkin was also concerned that this year's budget constraints could hinder any spending on school mental health resources.
The new version would also allow for the expulsion of a student, but only if repeated behavior occurs.
Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, an elementary school teacher, has prioritized elementary discipline legislation over the last two years, and the Senate Education Committee will take up her version Tuesday.
'I really think that they made a lot of really good changes to the bill and made it a lot better than what it was last year,' she said. 'I took a couple of things out that I wasn't in agreement with … I feel like it's a better bill that can get everybody in the school involved in helping these kids.'
Grady would like students who are disciplined for the first time for disruptive behavior to see a school counselor, school social worker or psychologist and set up a behavior plan to be implemented for a two-week period.
'Sometimes you might have one instance where they do something and then they change that behavior whenever you set up a plan for them. And sometimes you have the repeat offenders, which is really less than maybe 1% of students. That's what this is trying to deal with,' she said.
Both the Senate and House versions mandate that student discipline cannot conflict with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and students who are removed from school must be evaluated for a possible disability that could be the root of the behavioral issues.
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