Education
BY HANNAH NORTON
Teachers now have more disciplinary authority House Bill 6 gives public school teachers more discretion to remove students from the classroom if they are repeatedly disruptive or threaten the safety of others. The change comes after nearly half of Texas public school teachers cited disci- pline issues as a top workplace challenge in 2022, according to the Texas Education Agency. What you need to know The law, which took e ect immediately when Gov. Greg Abbott signed it on June 20, allows schools to suspend students of any age who engage in “repeated or signi cant” disrup- tions, reversing a 2017 state law that generally prohibited schools from suspending students in pre-K through second grade. If students in kindergarten through third grade are sent home for behavioral issues, schools must provide documentation explaining their decision.
Districts to level-set high school GPAs Texas school districts will soon be required to use a standard system to calculate high school students’ grade point averages. At a glance Senate Bill 1191, which became law June 20, directs the Texas Education Agency to create a new GPA standard “as soon as prac- ticable.” The system must give equal weight to advanced placement, international baccalaureate and dual enrollment courses. “It most likely won’t impact kids that are currently enrolled in high school, … because it’s going to take a while to make sure everyone is on the same page,” said Bob Popinski, who leads the policy team for public school advocacy group Raise Your Hand Texas.
“A lot of the problems we see with our kids in high school is because they did not have consequences, none whatsoever, when
they were younger.” REP. JEFF LEACH, R PLANO
HB 6 gives schools the option to place students in an in-school suspension for as long as they see t. State law previously mandated that students could not be suspended for more than three school days, whether they were inside a school building or at home. The three-day time limit on out-of-school suspensions remains unchanged. “This is simply an additional tool in the tool- box,” bill author Rep. Je Leach, R Plano, said on the House oor. “Our educators and our teachers do not want to kick kids out of school, period.”
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PFLUGERVILLE HUTTO EDITION
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