Texas Schools Send Unruly Students To Campus Police Instead Of Principal's Office

In Texas school districts, hundreds of tickets have been given to students, turning schoolyard shenanigans into Class C misdemeanors. Children as young as 6 years old have been ticketed, reported Dallas News.

Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit social justice advocacy group, Texas released a study on the ticketing titled "Texas' School-to-Prison Pipeline."

The report was authored by Deborah Fowler, legal director of Texas Appleseed. She said student misbehavior that would typically be handled by school management are now being referred to campus police.

"Disrupting class, using profanity, misbehaving on a school bus, student fights and truancy once meant a trip to the principal's office. Today, such misbehavior results in a Class C misdemeanor ticket and a trip to court for thousands of Texas students and their families each year."

Steve Perry, founder and principal of Capital Prep Magnet School, disagrees with the schools' strategy. He told CNN that the behavior of the students corresponds to the competence of the teacher and instead of focusing on discipline the schools should focus on the quality of their instructors.

"These people are out of their minds. It's a last ditch effort... If you cannot control children, you simply cannot work with children."

WATCH:

Comments

[ninetailedfox]

05:40 PM on 01/29/2011

This sounds familiar.

http://www.dallasobserver.com/1999-11-11/news/stop-the-madness/

it seems to me, Texas has been doing this, or something similar, for a very long time.

By Rose Farley Thursday, Nov 11 1999

In the second homework-related arrest in as many weeks, a Denton County juvenile court judge jailed a Ponder student for suspicion of making a terroristic threat after the first-grader wrote a book report on the children's classic Where the Wild Things Are.

[Benedictus70]

07:38 PM on 01/25/2011

That kid isn't doing himself any favors looking all smug in the photo with his ticket.

[rview]

07:12 AM on 01/25/2011

What a fantastic idea. Now that most schools have done away with corporeal punishment, teachers should be able to hand out tickets for noise pollution and other disturbances.

[quadexpresso]

04:03 PM on 01/24/2011

if teenagers fight at the mall, they would be picked up by the cops and often ticketed...why then if gangs have a gang fight in a school cafeteria, they shouldn't have tickets issued? sure the school administration should deal with them as per school policy, but for big stuff like damaging school property (no, not wriitng on the desk) and assualts and setting fires and causig major fights that disrupt the entire school, and interferring with the safety of school buses, ticketing is part of what happens..for minor stuff, then no tickets...this is not a all or nothing deal...tickets have their place

[BRex]

01:15 PM on 01/24/2011

The nature of Texas, one of the very core building blocks of the society is to punish "evil doers".

I lived in Texas from 1969 to 1975, from 1978 to 1990, and from 2002 to 2010.
The urge to punish is the one thread I see in every turn of that society.

From Judge Roy Bean to George Bush. "Evil Doers" are wanted dead or alive.

[aosborneh2o]

08:12 AM on 01/24/2011

Ok, here's a first. I agree with what Texas schools are doing in this case. Discipline has to be addressed beyond just blaming teachers for poor "classroom management" and letting a small group of students rob the rest of an education. This is not for the kids who just have trouble sitting still or occasionally talk out of turn, but for the core of students who are at school with a single goal of disrupting things for the rest. I would have to imagine that after a few of these, the student and their parents might get the message.

[alley boy]

09:47 PM on 01/23/2011

It figures that Texas would lead the way on this practice.

[melanierichards]

07:59 PM on 01/23/2011

I'm tired of the American attempt to treat children as though they are adults. Children, most often, are undeveloped socially, morally, and behaviorally, and cannot be expected to understand what a legal citation means for their criminal record. Kids make mistakes; we can't expect them to be perfect, and we shouldn't "write them up" for offenses that can be handled within the school. What we need to do is to make sure our teachers are trained to handle behavioral problems.

[Julie Ann Worley]

04:10 PM on 01/23/2011

20 U.S. States legally allow Physical/Corporal Punishment, where school employees hit children with wooden boards to deliberately inflict physical pain as punishment in 21st Century American classrooms! Schoolchildren are the ONLY GROUP OF PEOPLE LEGALLY SUBJECTED TO PHYSICAL PAIN AS PUNISHMENT! Some "School Paddling States" have "Teacher Immunity Laws" to protect school employees from criminal/civil action! There is no argument in support of physical/corporal punishment of children in schools and our nation's most trusted Children's Health and Education Organizations have issued Official Position Statements Opposing Corporal Punishment in Schools as it is harmful to the healthy development of children and an impairment to the learning environment which has resulted in injuries to schoolchildren. DEMAND U.S. CONGRESS ENACT H.R. 5628 "Ending Physical/Corporal Punishment of Children in U.S. Schools Act" IMMEDIATELY, already ILLEGAL IN SCHOOLS IN 30 STATES!

[sidnee]

01:22 PM on 01/23/2011

Oh ok--discipline shouldn't be the focus--the quality of the instructors should. Um--so we dont' hold the child or the parent accountable for the chid's actions? It's the teacher's fault that a child won't follow directions? It's my fault that the 1st grader in my classroom refuses to do what I say. It's my fault that he swears at me and throws things at the other children. It's my fault that several of the parents of the studnets I teach refuse to meet with me to talk about their child's progress because they are too busy? Mr Perry is the head of a magnet school--aka charter school. Who have the power to kick students out who aren't doing what they say they should be doing, thus ensuring a school full of cooperative children who have no discipline problems. There is a charter school in my district for 5-8 grade. The parents are required to sign all this stuff saying they will make sure thier child works, does their homework, comes on time to school, behaves etc. If the child or the parent doesnt' live up to that, the child isn't allowed to attend the school and returns to my school. Want to guess which students return? I'll give you a hint--it ISN'T the ones who are well behaved or motivated to learn. That isn't an opinion--it is a fact.

[KLovesFreedom]

03:19 PM on 01/23/2011

Exactly, Sidnee! Consistent, meaningful parental involvement is instrumental in helping a child achieve success in school. Perry's discussion doesn't even hints at the fact that children that "act out" or disruptive in school are usually dealing with problems in their home. I am not saying that the parents out there aren't having it just as hard, but a significant portion of the responsibility must lie with the parent. Maybe the answer can be found in a more holistic approach, something that incorporates more teacher support, counseling, boundaries and outreach to the parents, perhaps....

[fiibias]

07:08 AM on 01/25/2011

Schoolboys and schoolgirls havent leaving to chance "Mamas and Papas". Here a big boy Bernhard Sclink "Heimkehr",OK.

[ADRealist]

10:57 PM on 01/22/2011

This thread is full of comments about parents who should beat their children if they misbehave. Let me ask you this. If your wife does something that makes you angry, do you hit her? What if you upset your boss, do they hit you? How about your dog, cat, or customer service rep?

Nope, because you would go to jail - which is where you belong. And most people who do hit their children believe these are examples are unthinkable (or maybe not)

but the only difference is with a child you can often get away with it.

I know from training dogs, and abused animals that came from troubled homes; if you use negative reinforcement they will never come around. What it does take is knowledge, experience, and patience. Too many parents are ignorant, ADHD, and just don't care. They should have seen a psychiatrist before ever reproducing in this world and passing on their own bad habi

[ADRealist]

10:47 PM on 01/22/2011

All we are achieving by allowing this to take place is conditioning children to get comfortable with the idea of getting arrested and going to jail. Children have been outspoken and juvenile since and before the days of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Fin, only now instead of spending a couple of hours after class which is appropriate (wasting the children s time since they wasted the teachers.)

The child will now be treated like a criminal and to some extent people will act the way they are treated.

There is a far better school system that involves the children being treated like business employees. They are provided with a laptop, suite, and must take on some responsibilities as an adult. It is proving to be very effective.

[sidnee]

01:33 PM on 01/23/2011

I dont' agree with the way the Texas school is handling discipline. But I understand how it came to this. The point of the ticket it to get to the parents so they will hopefully step up and deal wtih their child. As a teacher myself, I see disruptive students who take away from the learning of ALL the students. I hvae one in my class this year. I can't kick the child out for more than a few minutes because I can't leave them behind on education because of NCLB so that child must be in my classroom "learning" with the rest of the class. The parent of this child is unwilling to deal with it. WHen I tell her what her child has done to be disruptive in class she just looks at me and says "So? He doesnt' act that way at home." Ok- but her child doesn't have 27 other brothers and sisters at home. What's the solution? I don't know. But I do know this--if parents AREN'T involved, or keep making excuses for thier child's behavior, you will probably see more of what Texas is doing. It's the case of a school having to step in as a parent to provide "discipline" because it wasn't taugh at home. Something else teachers are responsible for in this day and age.

[Clare53]

09:14 PM on 01/22/2011

Absolutely ridiculous -- and horrible.

[Acert]

10:07 PM on 01/22/2011

The last time I checked, assault and battery were still crimes, and before anyone screams, "But they're just children," there are juvenile justice systems to handle children, who break the law. This should probably be limited to older kids and repeat offenders, just so kids don't get dragged away for every playground tussle though.

[Naithom]

03:09 PM on 01/23/2011

Within the story it stated that these children are also being ticketed and charged with Level C misdemeanors for swearing and being late.

Does that sound reasonable to you?

If a child actually commits a legitimate crime, that should be dealt with as such. But if a child merely is acting up in class, the teachers and administrators need to learn to deal with that. it sounds as though you have people there who don't understand children or discipline.

[DesperOde]

05:24 PM on 01/22/2011

I recommend the student counter-sue for fraud given the condition of textbooks in Texas.

[genrel1248]

02:42 PM on 01/22/2011

Texas is preparing its students for their futures as inmates of the state.