As if CA students aren’t dumb enough...

From article

In an effort to make the state’s education system even dumber, California legislators are considering legislation that would bar schools from suspending students who defy teachers or disrupt class. It is yet another foolhardy endeavor taken on by so-called progressives who think it will help to promote “equity” or some other nonsense.

The Epoch Times reported:

Senate Bill 274, introduced by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), said such suspensions lead to students dropping out and exacerbate learning loss at a time when many are still behind due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Skinner also said such suspensions disproportionately affect Black male students, citing a 2018 study that reported they are three times more likely to be suspended for willful defiance than the statewide average.

“SB 274 is based on a simple premise: students belong in school,” Skinner said in a Feb. 1 press release. “Instead of kicking them out of school, we owe it to students to figure out what’s causing them to act out and help them fix it.” If passed, the bill would permanently ban willful defiance suspensions from elementary through middle school by the fall of 2024. It would also prohibit suspensions for tardiness or truancy.

“The punishment for missing school should not be to miss more school,” Skinner asserted. “Students, especially those with behavioral issues, need to be in school where teachers and counselors can help them succeed.”

The idea is being met with criticism from people pointing out that this move would make it harder for other students to learn. Davina Keiser, a retired teacher who worked with the Long Beach Unified School District, told the Epoch Times that allowing disruptive behavior is “detrimental to the learning of everybody else in the classroom.”

“It’s almost like a license for the rest of the kids to go ahead and misbehave,” she said.

Keiser continued, explaining that “as teachers, I wanted students to know that there are boundaries, and they have to stay within those.”

The proposal is in line with the progressive push to inject a concept known as “restorative justice” in the school system. This approach focuses on mediation rather than punishment.

Lance Christensen, vice president of education policy and government affairs at the California Policy Center also took issue with the proposal. He noted that disruptive students who do not face consequences could “act out in larger measure later.”

https://redstate.com/jeffc/2023/02/12/california-considers-bill-banning-schools-from-suspending-students-and-the-reason-why-is-so-predictable-n702834