the teachers union never took a stance on the issue, with some teachers saying willful defiance has been abused and others saying it takes an important disciplinary tool away from their classrooms. >> i teach my kids all the time. education is your passport. >> reporter: tunette powell learned that the hard way. long before her sons were born, she was labelled a troublemaker. as the daughter of a drug addicted father, she struggled in school and life. >> i was expelled from school when i was 3 years old in preschool. and when i first got the phone call about -- about j.j., i immediately thought back to that. you know, at a young age, i was told that i was bad kid in school. >> reporter: tunette proved them wrong, eventually got her college degree, wrote a book, and became an accomplished public speaker, even giving a ted talk. the powells have worked hard to make a good life for their