Parents in Boone County, Kentucky, were outraged this past January when a ninth grader who had been suspended a year earlier for threatening violence against his fellow students returned to class as soon as his punishment time was up.
The parents packed a school board meeting, excoriating the county superintendent and other officials for the decision and calling for change. By March, change had come from the state capitol in Frankfort: Kentucky enacted a new school discipline law that makes it easier to suspend students and harder for them to get back into the classroom.
“The kid had a ‘kill list’ which named students friends he was going to kill,” Republican state Rep. Steve Rawlings, who represents Boone County and championed the new law, said in an interview with Stateline. “The superintendent felt pressure to return him to class after a one-year suspension.”
Kentucky is one of several states to enact stricter punishments for disruptive students amid a post-pa
Parents in Boone County, Kentucky, were outraged this past January when a ninth grader who had been suspended a year earlier for threatening violence against his fellow students returned to
Kentucky is one of several states to enact stricter punishments for disruptive students amid a post-pandemic spike in school discipline problems. Eight states have considered student discipline legislation this year.
After COVID and kids return to classroom, school districts have documented an uptick in disciplinary problems and some states have increased disciplinary sanctions against unruly students.
Parents in Boone County, Kentucky, were outraged this past January when a ninth grader who had been suspended a year earlier for threatening violence against his fellow students returned to