Tennessee bill setting up process for student removal heads to governor

A Tennessee bill establishing a process for teachers to remove students from classrooms for “disorderly” behavior passed the Senate 25-8 Thursday morning.

The legislation, which cleared the House Monday night, now will head to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature.

Tennessee public schools and charter schools would be required to set up a process authorizing teachers to follow a six-step process to remove students who “repeatedly and substantially” display disruptive behaviors from classrooms, said bill sponsor Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald.

Hensley said the bill would help streamline the procedure teachers have to go through to manage disobedient students. 

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“They’ve been not able to teach,” Hensley said of teachers. “(The bill) sets up a process and procedure that the teacher has to go through to remove a child that has been repeatedly and substantially interfering with that teacher’s ability to teach.”

But the bill raised concerns from several lawmakers, who feared the bill would empower teachers to punish disorderly students and ignore the help schools could provide to guide students through.

“When a teacher faces a disciplinary issue … removing an unruly student from the classroom isn’t the problem,” said Sen. Page Walley, R-Bolivar, who voted against the bill. “The problem is getting that student the help they need so they can be reinstated in the classroom.”

Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Raumesh Akbari of Memphis said “disruptive behavior” is not clearly defined, which would allow for interpretation at will. She said the bill does not accommodate students with undiagnosed learning disabilities.

Hensley said he thinks the bill would, on the contrary, help children with special needs by setting up a procedure requiring teachers to offer counseling.

The bill would establish the six-step referral process teachers must follow before removing students from class.

Teachers must take action to address the disruptive behavior; “provide consequences” for the behavior; have a conversation with the student’s guardian or parent; offer an opportunity for school counseling or seek other supportive avenues; implement a plan to address the behavior with the student; and refer the student to the principal or the principal’s designee.