The Highland County Press

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order aiming to reinstate “common sense” school discipline, more states may follow and expand the authority of teachers and school officials to deal with disruptive students. The order, signed in April, repeals prior federal guidance that encouraged schools to address racial disparities in discipline, arguing that such policies promoted “discriminatory equity ideology” and compromised school safety by pressuring administrators to underreport serious student misconduct. In some states, new legislation is already trending toward giving teachers more authority to address student misbehavior. In West Virginia, for example, a new law creates a structured process for responding to violent, threatening, or disruptive behavior among students in grades K-6. Under the law, a student exhibiting such behavior can be immediately removed from class, evaluated by counselors or behavioral specialists, and placed on an individualized behavior plan