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The Baltimore school board delayed a vote on whether to permanently expel students 16 and older involved in serious or violent incidents, one of the most hotly debated issues to come before the panel in the past year.
The proposed change in disciplinary policy was scheduled for a board vote Tuesday but was taken off the agenda at the last minute and rescheduled for Nov. 11.
School board member David Stone, in an interview earlier in the day, said there had been "a lot of last-minute suggestions proposed" to the policy that was to have been voted on.
A year ago, city schools CEO Andrés Alonso decided to begin a practice of permanently expelling any student involved in arson or explosives in a school building.
During the course of the year, Alonso expelled 46 students between the ages of 9 and 18 for such infractions. After concerns were raised by the public about whether he should be prohibiting students from getting an education, Alonso backed away from the practice and agreed to limit the expulsions to students 16 and older. The school board drafted a new disciplinary code designed to reflect that practice.
Of the original 46 expulsions, three were overturned when students represented by Legal Aid attorneys appealed the decisions. Sixteen students have been told that they cannot return to any Baltimore public school.
Dennis Moulden, chairman of the Parent and Community Advisory Board, spoke during the public comment portion of the school board meeting last night in favor of a new policy allowing permanent expulsions. He said that he hopes there will be enough safeguards in place to ensure that permanent expulsions are rarely used.
"We all have the belt in our closet; we hope that we'll never use it," he said.
Later, in an interview, he said, "I would never advocate whipping a child, but children need boundaries. The belt is a boundary."
The board has held several public meetings on the issue of permanent expulsions, debated the policy during regular meetings and could have voted as early as last night on whether to change the code of conduct.
The board, which has only eight voting members because it has one empty seat, has appeared split on the issue of whether permanent expulsions should be allowed.
The proposed change in disciplinary policy was scheduled for a board vote Tuesday but was taken off the agenda at the last minute and rescheduled for Nov. 11.
School board member David Stone, in an interview earlier in the day, said there had been "a lot of last-minute suggestions proposed" to the policy that was to have been voted on.
A year ago, city schools CEO Andrés Alonso decided to begin a practice of permanently expelling any student involved in arson or explosives in a school building.
During the course of the year, Alonso expelled 46 students between the ages of 9 and 18 for such infractions. After concerns were raised by the public about whether he should be prohibiting students from getting an education, Alonso backed away from the practice and agreed to limit the expulsions to students 16 and older. The school board drafted a new disciplinary code designed to reflect that practice.
Of the original 46 expulsions, three were overturned when students represented by Legal Aid attorneys appealed the decisions. Sixteen students have been told that they cannot return to any Baltimore public school.
Dennis Moulden, chairman of the Parent and Community Advisory Board, spoke during the public comment portion of the school board meeting last night in favor of a new policy allowing permanent expulsions. He said that he hopes there will be enough safeguards in place to ensure that permanent expulsions are rarely used.
"We all have the belt in our closet; we hope that we'll never use it," he said.
Later, in an interview, he said, "I would never advocate whipping a child, but children need boundaries. The belt is a boundary."
The board has held several public meetings on the issue of permanent expulsions, debated the policy during regular meetings and could have voted as early as last night on whether to change the code of conduct.
The board, which has only eight voting members because it has one empty seat, has appeared split on the issue of whether permanent expulsions should be allowed.
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