By Charles Young, The Exponent Telegram
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The president of the West Virginia Education Association has urged state lawmakers to pass legislation aimed at addressing student discipline issues.
Dale Lee, speaking to members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Committee on Education Monday, said teachers are increasingly faced with violent and disruptive behavioral issues in the classroom.
“When you have kindergarten kids that are throwing chairs, stabbing other students with pencils, when you have teachers who are suffering broken fingers and bruises and everything else in the early grades, that’s a major, major problem that we have,” he said. “When you have middle school students that are coming up with hit lists of their peers and educators, that’s a major problem.”
Discipline issues must be addressed in the “early stages” of a student’s time in schools, Lee said.
“If we wait until they are in the middle school or the high school, we’ve lost a lot of them,” he said.
“And it’s not just a simple as ‘Well all we’ve got to do is suspend them and get them out of schools.’ No, it’s not that.”
