Texas Lawmakers Advance Sweeping School Discipline Overhaul
Texas legislators are advancing a comprehensive school discipline reform bill that would make it easier for teachers to remove disruptive students
Texas legislators are advancing a comprehensive school discipline reform bill that would make it easier for teachers to remove disruptive students from classrooms and potentially extend in-school suspension periods indefinitely. House Bill 6, dubbed the "Teacher Bill of Rights" by its author Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), aims to provide educators with greater flexibility in handling disciplinary issues while maintaining the current three-day limit for out-of-school suspensions. The legislation comes as Texas schools have reported an 11% increase in suspensions between the 2021-22 and 2023-24 school years, reflecting nationwide concerns about student behavior following the pandemic.
"Teacher Bill of Rights"
The proposed legislation seeks to revise existing sections of the Texas Education Code related to student discipline, particularly affecting younger students and those with disabilities.
"Our teachers should be spending their time educating, not constantly managing disruptions and disciplinary issues," Rep. Leach said, according to the Princeton Herald. "To recruit amazing teachers to the classroom and to retain them there, we must give them the ability to maintain discipline without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles."
While maintaining the three-day maximum for out-of-school suspensions currently mandated by state law, the bill notably removes any time limit for in-school suspensions, potentially allowing schools to keep disruptive students separated from their regular classrooms for extended periods.
Rep. Candy Noble (R-Lucas), a bill supporter, emphasized the legislation's intent to address what some educators perceive as inadequate disciplinary options. "For too long, out-of-control students have been returned to he classroom without much discipline," Noble stated. This bill will restore discipline in our schools with tools like in-school suspension or expulsion and/or removal of disruptive students.",,
Post-Pandemic Discipline Challenges Drive Reform
The push for expanded disciplinary options comes amid concerning trends in student behavior following the disruption of normal schooling caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to data published by the Texas Education Agency, out-of-school suspensions in Texas public schools jumped 11% between the 2021-22 school year (the first full year of in-person classes after pandemic closures) and the 2023-24 school year. The total number of suspensions rose from approximately 362,200 to 403,900 during this period, marking the first time Texas schools reported more than 400,000 suspensions since the 2015-16 school year.
This increase reversed a pre-pandemic trend of declining suspensions, which had been dropping steadily as more school leaders embraced approaches to discipline that didn't involve removing students from campus. The previous decline also followed state legislation passed in 2017 limiting suspensions for second-graders and younger students.
"Texas' suspension trends come amid nationwide issues with the pandemic negatively affecting students' behavioral development," Houston Landing reported. A 2022 National Center for Education Statistics survey found that 84% of public school leaders felt the quarantine negatively affected student behavior, particularly regarding classroom disruptions due to student misconduct.
Mixed Results from Recent Discipline Approaches
The proposed legislation comes as Texas school districts have shown varying results with different disciplinary approaches, highlighting the complexity of addressing student behavior issues.
Houston ISD, which underwent significant changes beginning in 2023 under state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles, provides an instructive case study. While Miles implemented strict behavior rules at 85 overhauled schools—including prohibiting talking in hallways and requiring students to take traffic cones as bathroom passes—the results varied dramatically across campuses.
"Six overhauled schools reported the number of fights last year fell by at least half, but at 10 overhauled campuses, the count at least doubled," according to Houston Landing. "Similarly, out-of-school suspensions fell by at least half at five overhauled schools, while at least doubled at seven."
Miles acknowledged in an interview that HISD had not yetIngress toward, Miles acknowledgedreducing out-of-school suspensions but argued that his changes have made school environments "more orderly and conducive to learning."
The mixed results from HISD's approach underscore the challenge for legislators to craft discipline policies that can be effectively implemented in diverse school environments.
Current Discipline Framework in Texas Schools
Texas public schools operate under a disciplinary framework established by the Texas Education Code and federal law. Each district is responsible for developing its student code of conduct.
According to the Texas Education Agency, these codes outline "disciplinary actions taken based on student behavior." Common reasons for suspension include fighting, assaulting a school employee, and possession of drugs or alcohol.
While district codes vary in specifics, state law currently limits out-of-school suspensions to no more than three consecutive days. The proposed legislation would maintain this limit while removing time restrictions on in-school suspensions, which keep students on campus but separated from their regular classrooms.
The TEA's Student Discipline Program provides guidance to local education agencies and regional education service centers on disciplinary policies, procedures, and discipline data reporting requirements. In January 2023, following legislation passed during the 87th Texas Legislature, the agency also established minimum standards for bullying prevention policies and procedures.
Part of Broader Education Reform Efforts
House Bill 6 represents one component of Texas lawmakers' broader education reform agenda for the current legislative session.
In February, the Texas House unveiled a package of educational reforms that collectively aim to establish a program providing families with state funding for private education while also increasing financial support for public schools.
Another significant proposal, House Bill 4, introduced by State Representative Brad Buckley (R-Salado), seeks to enhance the Texas Education Agency's authority to penalize school districts with low accountability scores. This legislation would also mandate changes to the State of Assessments Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam, requiring the TEA to shorten the test and adjust its focus to emphasize preparation for post-secondary education.
These combined efforts reflect lawmakers' attempts to simultaneously address multiple aspects of the education system, from classroom discipline to standardized testing and school accountability.
Balancing Discipline and Educational Access
As legislators consider expanding disciplinary options, they must balance the need for orderly classrooms with concerns about excessive removals that could impact student learning.
Houston parent Destinee Wilson's experience illustrates this tension. Wilson told Houston Landing that when her son was repeatedly suspended from Fleming Middle School for infractions like talking back to teachers and wearing Crocs on campus, "It's a big delay with my son's education. We didn't go through this with any other school. … They're so quick to do a suspension."
Wilson's son transformed from a "top-of-class fifth grader into an academically struggling sixth grader" due to missed instructional time, highlighting the potential educational consequences of frequent suspensions.
This concern is particularly relevant given that Fleming Middle School assigned three times more out-of-school suspensions in the 2023-24 school year than the previous year. Meanwhile, Key Middle School, located just two miles away and serving a similar student population, reduced its suspensions to one-fourth the number issued the prior year.
Such disparities in disciplinary practices between neighboring campuses with similar student demographics underscore the challenge of implementing consistent and effective discipline policies across Texas' diverse school districts.
Implications for Texas Schools
As Texas lawmakers consider this significant overhaul of school discipline policies, the potential impacts on students, teachers, and school environments remain to be entirely determined.
Supporters argue that expanding teachers' disciplinary options will create more orderly classrooms conducive to learning. This could potentially address the post-pandemic behavioral challenges documented across the state. Removing time limits for in-school suspensions could give schools more flexibility in addressing disruptive behavior while keeping students on campus.
However, concerns remain about the potential for increased student removal from regular classrooms and the educational consequences of extended time in alternative settings. The disparate outcomes observed in Houston ISD's disciplinary reform efforts suggest that implementation may vary significantly across schools and districts, potentially leading to inconsistent experiences for Texas students.
As the legislative process continues, educators, parents, and policymakers will watch closely to see how this proposed discipline overhaul balances teachers' need for classroom management tools with students' need for consistent access to education. This balance has become increasingly challenging due to pandemic-related behavioral changes in Texas schools.