RALEIGH, N.C. — State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including several on a critical education reform committee, say they're committed to seeking solutions to help ensure some of North Carolina's most vulnerable students get the public education they're constitutionally guaranteed.
As WCNC Charlotte has extensively reported, students with disabilities are missing weeks of learning every year due to districts' reliance on out-of-school suspensions, routinely as punishment for disruptions caused by their disabilities. Those students' families and advocates call the exclusionary discipline practice discrimination.
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WCNC Charlotte previously analyzed federal records and discovered North Carolina suspends students with disabilities, at-length, more often than any other state. That data doesn't include cases where kids are sent home early or placed in a homebound setting indefinitely with limited instruction.
In an interview with WCNC Charlotte, United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona called this "a very important issue."
"As a former school principal, I remember how challenging it was when students communicated that they have needs or deficits in skills through mal-adapted behaviors," Cardona said. "But it's our responsibility as educators to make sure that the students that need more education get more, not less."
While he credits the American Rescue Plan with helping put more social workers and psychologists in schools, Cardona said the federal government continues pushing local governments and states to do their part to fully support these students.
"It's an issue that if not addressed boldly will lead to wider disparities," he said.
A WCNC Charlotte investigation found more than a dozen other states have taken bold action, banning suspensions and/or expulsions, primarily for the youngest students, with exceptions.
"Do you think North Carolina should ban this kind of discipline?" WCNC Charlotte asked Rep. Laura Budd (D), NC-District 103.
"Unless it includes acts of violence against another, yes," she replied.
Budd sits on the North Carolina House's K-12 Education Committee. The Mecklenburg County Democrat said she supports a ban, but not at the expense of other kids in the classroom.
"You have to provide your school districts with alternative means to manage their schools and the students within them," Budd said. "You cannot tell someone, 'Don't do this,' and then not give them what they need. … It is appalling that we have a disciplinary rate for children with disabilities, especially those who are people of color or from low socioeconomic backgrounds, that the response to a special need is to punish. That is not what we should be doing. We need to meet the need, accommodate the need and educate."
Ahead of the General Assembly's short session in the coming months, Budd said Democrats and Republicans must agree on major public school investments to properly address this problem.
"I think sometimes we take shortcuts -- it's easier to discipline after the conduct has occurred than it is to invest in preventive discipline," she said. "The kids are getting punished as a result and they shouldn't be. They don't intend to be disruptive, but you're punishing them as if they did have intent and therein lies the problem."
Any legislative change during the short session would have to start within the separate House Select Committee on Education Reform.
"We're going to have to put our money where our mouth is," Budd said. "I think one of the things they can do is put this issue at the top of the agenda."
Rep. Ray Pickett (R), NC-District 93, sits on the reform committee.
"As a lawmaker, as a committee member, what can you do to help find a solution?" WCNC Charlotte asked Pickett.
"The first thing you can do is listen to people that know more than you do to get some hard facts on what is happening and maybe what some of the solutions are," he replied. "I never come down here and pretend I know everything about all subjects. You have to be able to call people and get some good advice on what is happening."
When asked if he would support a suspension ban, Pickett said he doesn't know enough about the issue to commit one way or the other.
"At this time, I would like to have more information, because each case would be different and I think we'd have to have something in the law that gave a little discretion," he said.
The western North Carolina Republican said he's committed to learning more about the problem, from teachers and school administrators, for starters.
"These kids deserve to have a chance at education and be a productive member of society." he said. "We have issues that we have to address and we're going to have to address them here and it's going to have to be recurring money. This is something that was not on my radar, so I appreciate you contacting me and putting it on my radar, so I can learn more about it."
Rep. Brian Biggs (R), NC-District 70, is one of the reform committee's co-chairs. He told WCNC Charlotte, while the committee has not set concrete agendas for every meeting, students with disabilities "may be be a topic that is addressed."
The Randolph County Republican said he believes coming up with a solution is already a priority.
"We at the General Assembly can continue to work with (Local Education Agencies) to address the needs of students with disabilities, teachers, and facilities," he told WCNC Charlotte. "Every situation is different. We can continue to bring awareness and attention to the issue, and all of the issues that our students with disabilities -- as well as those that teach and interact with them -- face."
Biggs said he does not support a ban as a way to reduce the number of suspensions.
"Every situation is unique," he told WCNC Charlotte. "I do not think that making a blanket ban is the best way to protect and teach these students, the other students in schools, or our staff. Every child has a right to an education. Exclusionary discipline may need to be applied in certain situations. Those that teach students with disabilities are rock stars and we need to protect them while also safeguarding the right of these children to an education. Those classrooms are some of the most difficult to staff, and if we make the very teachers that choose to work with these children feel as though we are not supporting them, or giving them the proper resources, it will only get more problematic to recruit and retain teachers and support staff in that environment. We have a Constitutional duty to provide an education to all students and need to balance ensuring that education for all of the students in our schools."
IF YOU HAVE A CHILD WITH A DISABILITY WHO EXPERIENCED THIS KIND OF DISCIPLINE, SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE
Rep. Tricia Cotham (R), NC-District 112, is also a member of the reform committee. The Mecklenburg County Democrat turned Republican told WCNC Charlotte she too is interested in learning more.
WCNC Charlotte has also shared its finding with the reform committee's other co-chair Rep. John Torbett (R), NC-District 108. The Gaston County Republican did not respond to WCNC Charlotte's request.
Teachers, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators Vice President Rae LeGrone, have pointed out the severe underfunding of public schools, including a decrease in funding for teachers' assistants since 2005.
"Teachers and support staff don't have the tools available to them in the classroom to differentiate and give every student a sound education," she previously said. "I can't help but think that if every (elementary) classroom had a teacher's assistant like we used to, then a lot of these suspensions would not be taking place, because students' needs would be met. Things that would be easily solved with having two adults in a classroom are now taking up a whole classroom's time, because there's one teacher who has to focus solely on one or two students, so it's really lessening the education of everybody in the school building."
Rep. Julie von Haefen (D), NC-District 36, told WCNC Charlotte she has filed bills four years in a row for the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan, but they've failed to move out of the Rules Committee or even get a hearing.
"Without adequate funding for our schools, teachers will continue to feel overwhelmed and under resourced," the Wake County Democrat said. "What can we do as legislators? Provide staff with what they need in order to meet the needs of their students. Fund our schools as the NC Supreme Court has ordered us to do."
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