79°F
weather icon Clear

EDITORIAL: School safety comes second in CCSD

An old adage states, “If it matters, measure it.” And what the Clark County School District chooses to measure shows its misplaced priorities.

Last week, the Board of Trustees received an update on student discipline. The tone was largely upbeat. Associate Superintendent Kevin McPartlin highlighted how third-quarter suspension numbers dropped from 21,830 in the 2023-24 school year to 19,622 this past school year. Expulsions went down from 989 to 912 in the same time frame. “We are observing positive trends related to overall student discipline,” Mr. McPartlin said.

District officials were especially excited about the reduction in suspensions and expulsions among minority students. They presented this as evidence that their focus on restorative justice is working. “When we look at our successes, the implementation of our restorative disciplinary protocols has resulted in measurable positive changes districtwide,” Assistant Superintendent Samuel Scavella said. “Exclusionary practices have decreased across all school levels and among nearly every student group.”

That could be wonderful news — if it resulted from a decrease in disruption and violence on campus. Over the past decade, the district has struggled to ensure that schools are safe for students and teachers. Frequent videos of fights on school campuses abound as do reports of assaults on teachers.

But district officials didn’t provide data on campus safety. Perhaps the reduction in suspensions and expulsions stemmed from improved student behavior. But it’s more likely principals understand that their bosses frown on punitive discipline. Trustees Lydia Dominguez and Lorena Biassotti attempted to dig into this. Many teachers feel “schools are being penalized for these behavioral numbers and so they believe that maybe the principal, admin don’t want to place that kid under a suspension,” Mrs. Dominguez noted.

That has been a longstanding critique of the restorative justice programs that the district now touts.

“The current implementation of restorative practices has failed to address the most detrimental student behaviors,” Jeff Horn, the executive director of the district’s administrator union, said in 2023.

He was testifying in support of Assembly Bill 330, which passed. Proposed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, it allowed districts to remove more violent students from classrooms.

“I frequently hear from site-based administrators, as well as teachers and support professionals, who have sustained physical injuries and threats of bodily harm from disruptive and out-of-control students,” Mr. Horn said.

The district needs to measure safety — first. If the district has evidence that coddling disruptive students has decreased violence, fine. Let’s see it. That it instead prefers to focus on declines in student discipline speaks volumes.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
MORE STORIES