New Student Code Of Conduct Proposed
SNOW HILL The removal of
some "zero tolerance" discipline
policies from schools statewide
could become a reality by the end
of the month, resulting in a mixed
local reaction with the Worcester
County Board of Education taking
a generally positive view, while at
least one County Commissioner
has labeled the changes "scary".
A new, statewide Student Code
of Conduct has been under devel-
opment by the Maryland State De-
partment of Education (MSDE) for
more than two years. The public
comment period for the draft
ended last week. However, it
seems to have flown under the
radar locally and the announce-
ment that the regulations could
soon be adopted caused County
Commissioner Virgil Shockley no
small amount of alarm.
"You've got a situation where
now you're putting bus drivers,
aides, teachers, principals really,
really in danger," said Shockley, a
school bus contractor as well as a
farmer.
The changes would be exten-
sive and affect most disciplinary
actions. In general, the new code
would eliminate most zero toler-
ance policies for peer harass-
ment, drug possession, classroom
disruption and weapon violations.
Instead of an automatic out-of-
school suspension, penalties like
a shorter in-school suspension,
mentoring program, mediation or
community service would become
the norm.
Shockley, who has also been a
school bus driver for the past 26
years, said that he was startled by
the perceived replacement of cur-
rent policies with what might a-
mount to a slap on the wrist.
"My initial reaction to this was,
we spent almost $750,000 last
year for deputies trying to make
our schools safe and you have the
State of Maryland basically saying
that we're going to keep a bully in
school no matter what he does,"
he said. "We're going to keep a
kid who assaulted someone in
school no matter what he does.
We're going to keep a kid that
brought drugs to school, forget
that. We're going to keep a kid
that brought a gun. You can't kick
them out and suspend them per-
manently, forget that. We're going
to keep them in school and we're
going to keep them in your
school."
rates are improving, we have ov-
erlooked the safety of our stu-
dents and staff," wrote Abby Bey-
tin, president of the Teachers As-
sociation of Baltimore County, in
an undated letter to MSDE.
"In short, the Board of Educa-
tion feels that the draft Student
Code of Conduct and the propos-
ed regulations would make our
schools less safe and less order-
ly," wrote the Carroll County
Board of Education in a letter
dated Oct. 22, 2013.
The criticism wasn't unani-
mous, however, with some educa-
tors asking for amendments but
still being supportive overall. The
Maryland Association of Boards of
Education (MABE) agreed that
there are problems with current
zero tolerance policies. Addition-
ally, they want to see reform in
areas like continued educational
services to all suspended or ex-
pelled students as well as a re-
duction in the "disproportionate
impacts of student discipline poli-
cies on minority students." Both
are major goals of the state over-
haul of the Student Code of Con-
duct.
A letter dated Dec. 3, 2012,
from the Montgomery Board of
Education made a similar state-
ment, endorsing the intent of the
state initiative.
"We support the intent of these
proposed changes," wrote the
board. "The seriousness of the in-
fractions, the impact on students,
and the effect on future conduct
are important factors in applying a
suspension, a discipline tool that
is considered an excused ab-
sence."
The state board will vote to
pass the Student Code of Con-
duct on Jan. 28. If it passes, Wil-
son confirmed that the Worcester
Board of Education will review the
changes and amend the county
rules to "reflect the intent of the
regulations."
Shockley, however, has al-
ready tentatively reached out to
Worcester's state representatives
looking for support in opposing
the new Student Code of Con-
duct.
"In my I email, I basically said
that we may need legislative ac-
tion on this to opt out," he said.
More information and a list of
all posted public comments can
be found at www.marylandpublic-
schools.org/MSDE/stateboard
under the "Student Discipline and
Long Term Suspensions" tab.
It's not quite that drastic, ac-
cording to the Worcester County
Board of Education.
"Changes to Maryland's stu-
dent discipline regulations will not
affect the federal laws, which ad-
dress firearm violations on school
property," said Superintendent Dr.
Jerry Wilson. "Consequences for
firearm violations will remain the
same. In addition, it continues to
be a crime in Maryland to threaten
or intend to cause harm with a
deadly weapon of any kind."
But the new Student Code of
Conduct would "relax zero toler-
ance policies" in many areas,
added Wilson.
"This helps to ensure that a
consequence reflects the specific
infraction rather than a one-size-
fits-all approach," he said.
Worcester already has a strong
track record on safe and comfort-
able environments. In the most
recent 2013 Parent Survey, 99
percent of participating parents
gave "safe and orderly environ-
ments" a favorable rating, with 63-
percent giving the category the
top rating of "Excellent."
"Although the proposed regula-
tions will generate some changes
around how we determine appro-
priate consequences, our safe
and orderly learning environments
will not change," Wilson said. "We
are committed to our schools and
classrooms being safe learning
environments."
But if it isn't broken, Shockley
wondered why it needs to be fix-
ed.
"It is very troubling to me to
have a state intervene, especially
with Worcester County being the
top ranked school system in the
state," he said.
Shockley alluded to both
Worcester's high rate of spending
per pupil and the county standard-
ized test scores, both of which
have consistently fallen amongst
the top-rated in the state.
It isn't just a local concern.
Comments on the proposed chan-
ges have been filed from all over
the state with opinions mixed.
Comments posted to MSDE's
website are generally critical of
the change with the consensus
being that the state is neutering
county schools' autonomy and a-
bility to regulate their own discipli-
nary practices.
"In the rush to make Maryland
look good on paper so we can say
our suspension and expulsion
Page 30
January 17, 2014
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
Air Traffic Control
Tower Funding Backed
SALISBURY U.S. Sen. Bar-
bara Mikulski (D-Md.) this week
announced the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2014 now
under consideration included
$140 million to fund 149 federal
contract air traffic control towers
across the nation including the
air traffic control tower at the
Salisbury-Wicomico-Ocean City
Airport.
The legislation is currently
under consideration in the
House of Representatives and
the Senate is expected to take
up the debate later this week. If
approved, the spending plan
would fully fund the air traffic
control tower at the Salisbury
airport as well as four other air-
ports in Maryland.
"This bill is good news for fed-
eral contract air traffic control
towers and the communities and
jobs that rely on them," said Mi-
kulski. "In recent years, these
contract towers and their com-
munities have faced shutdown,
furloughs and uncertainty."
Last year, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Transportation an-
nounced plans to close 149 fed-
eral air traffic control towers
across the nation, including the
tower at the Salisbury Airport
and four others in Maryland, due
to sequester. In April 2013, Con-
gress passed legislation giving
the FAA flexibility to shift funding
to prevent furloughs and keep
the air traffic control towers op-
en.
Blood Drive On Tap
OCEAN CITY The Blood
Bank of Delmarva returns to the
Ocean City Convention Center
for the 16th Annual Ocean City
Blood Drive on Tuesday, Jan.
28, and Wednesday, Jan. 29,
from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Roughly 600 donors are ex-
pected to register to donate
blood during the two-day period.
This year will continue with
the "OC Saves!" theme to pay
tribute to the thousands of do-
nors who have saved lives
throughout the years and contin-
ue to give back to the communi-
ty by donating blood. The drive
will be held in a new location in
the Ocean City Convention
Center-Dockside Hall. The two
days will also feature raffles and
giveaways.
"The `OC Saves' blood drive
is very important in helping us
maintain our blood supply,
which serves the 16 hospitals
and 20,000 patients a year, a-
cross Delmarva," Michael Waite,
Blood Bank of Delmarva's direc-
tor of Marketing and Community
Relations, said. "This year, we
moved the drive to Dockside
Hall in the convention center
and our donors will have a fan-
tastic view of the bay while they
give blood. Registered donors
will also be entered to win some
really great prizes from local
Regional Digest
SEE NEXT PAGE
By TRAVIS BROWN
STAFF WRITER
Commissioner Worries Relaxing Zero Tolerance
Discipline Policies Will Send Wrong Message