Discipline, Please Tell Me!

 What are your thoughts about discipline in our schools today? I would really like to hear what your thoughts. Some issues lately has brought the issue to my attention. I had four children go through and a grandchild I raised. I defiantly have my own thoughts but I will stay bias in this blog.  I want to share with you some things I have learned while doing my research. I hope to here your thoughts and ideas for a solution that agrees with parent, teacher and state. 

Upon researching I found this information on State Discipline Law Compilation: The Alabama Compilation of School Discipline Laws and Regulations offers a categorized overview of legal frameworks governing school discipline statewide. It includes:

• Corporal punishment policies

• Suspension and expulsion procedures

• Due process rights

• Reporting requirements

Statewide Discipline Data: According to a 2023 analysis by AL.com, Alabama schools report discipline and safety incidents to the state, including:

• In-school and out-of-school suspensions

• Expulsions

• Fights, threats, and weapons-related incidents

• Bullying and harassment reports

District Website Resources: The Tallapoosa County Board of Education provides a general Code of Conduct and policies on its . While it outlines behavioral expectations and consequences, it does not publish detailed annual statistics directly on the homepage.

PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

Parental involvement is paramount to the success of students in school. Therefore, it is important that

parents have the opportunity to know what is happening with their children on a regular basis. Parents

can stay informed about their child’s progress through regular progress reports and report cards, weekly

folders at the elementary level and daily agendas at the high school level.

 Parents are encouraged to

review this policy booklet with their children regularly. It is the responsibility of the school to make

parents aware of situations affecting their child pertaining to discipline and provide support for

correcting the problematic behavior. Additional notices will be sent home with students when they are

referred to the principal or assistant principal for violation of the handbook guidelines. The Code of

Alabama, 1975 revised, 16-28-12, places responsibility on the parents/guardian for the attendance

and conduct of their students.

At any time, a parent may request a conference with the principal, assistant principal or teacher, to

discuss issues related to discipline and the handbook. This Tallapoosa County Handbook outlines

expectations for each of these parties. When parents, teachers, administrators and students work

together our students can become fully prepared for life beyond school. 

In order to facilitate proper school to parent communication, it is necessary for the school to be notified if and when any telephone numbers change, there is an address change, or anything that might have an effect on communication between the school and parent. Conferences should be scheduled through the school principal or assistant principal.

“The curriculum of the home is twice as predictive of academic learning as family socio-

economic status. This curriculum involves informed parent-child conversations about everyday

events, encouragement, and discussion of leisure reading, monitoring and joint analysis of

television viewing and peer activities, deferral of immediate gratifications to accomplish long-

term goals, expressions of affections, interest in the child’s academic and other progress as a

person, and parental influence is no less important in high school years.”

I feel from the start the parent takes the fall no matter what. Where is the school accountability. Doors always swing both ways. If you can have a unruly child, a parentless parent; you can have a broken system, or teaching staff. Let us look through the eyes of all parties equally.