Nearly two years ago, I stood before our Wylie ISD staff at our annual convocation to introduce our theme for the school year – BOLD. The theme was a call to action for all of us to courageously live out our values. I shared my personal aspirations, like my goal to lose weight (with mixed results). More importantly, I shared my professional goal to better protect both students and teachers in the classroom, as I had noticed a troubling rise in student discipline issues. I promised that it would be our legislative priority for the next session.
Well, the 89th Legislative Session began in mid-January and you guessed it, at the top of our priority list is addressing student behavior. It’s an issue that affects every student, teacher, and family in our community.
This issue is more than just a policy discussion, it’s about the daily reality in our classrooms. It’s about ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn in a safe and structured environment and that every educator has the support they need to do their job effectively.
Our work on this didn’t just start last month. Over a year ago, we helped form the Student Behavior Management Coalition, a growing group of school districts from across Texas—big and small, rural and urban, and everywhere in between—because we were all facing the same, undeniable challenge: student behavior is getting worse, and schools don’t have the tools to fix it.
This isn’t about placing blame. We recognize that kids today are facing more stress, more trauma, and more challenges than ever before. The world has changed, and our students are bringing the weight of those changes into the classroom. Some children need extra support to navigate those challenges, and as educators, we are committed to providing that support.
But here’s the hard truth: teachers and administrators are being asked to handle behaviors they were never trained to manage. Our schools are filled with compassionate, dedicated professionals who signed up to teach, mentor, and inspire students, not to serve as mental health therapists, law enforcement officers, or crisis intervention specialists. Yet, that is exactly what is being asked of them every single day.
When classrooms are disrupted, whether by outbursts, aggression, or students who simply don’t know how to function in a structured learning environment, it affects everyone.
- The student struggling with behavior issues isn’t getting the support they truly need.
- The other students in the classroom are losing valuable learning time.
- The teacher is overwhelmed and often has no real options to de-escalate the situation effectively.
- Administrators spend more and more of their time managing extreme behavior, rather than leading their schools and supporting their staff.
- Law enforcement cannot legally intervene unless there’s an imminent danger or threat.
- When classrooms become unsafe, it’s not just a school issue – it’s a community issue.
The fact is that our schools have been given more and more responsibility without being given the tools to meet those responsibilities. We are required to maintain high academic standards, ensure the safety and well-being of every child, and meet an ever-growing list of expectations from the state. But when it comes to managing student behavior, the current laws tie our hands rather than giving us the flexibility and resources we need.
That’s why we joined forces with other districts to push for common-sense updates to Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code, which governs student discipline in Texas schools. This law was well-intentioned when it was created in 1995, but over time, it has grown from 5 pages to over 130 pages, adding layer after layer of bureaucracy. Instead of helping schools, these changes have stripped away local control, making it harder for teachers, administrators, and school boards to take action when student behavior becomes dangerous or disruptive.
Our goal is simple: we need solutions that protect the right of every student to learn and every staff member to work in a safe environment while also ensuring that students who struggle with behavior receive the appropriate interventions and support they need.
We believe in compassionate accountability – balancing empathy with clear expectations and consequences. This includes helping students grow as well as maintaining the boundaries that make learning possible. No teacher should feel unsafe or helpless in their classroom. No student should feel unsafe or have their education constantly disrupted by extreme behavior. And no administrator should have to choose between supporting their staff and following an outdated, ineffective law.
If you’ve seen me on the news recently, you know we’re pushing hard for common-sense reforms. We’ve worked closely with other districts and legal experts to recommend real solutions. And last week, we saw real progress.
House Bill 6, authored by Representative Jeff Leach, was filed last Thursday and includes many of the reforms we’ve been fighting for. Representative Leach represents an area of Collin County that serves coalition members, such as Allen ISD and Plano ISD. This bill exists because school leaders spoke up, and lawmakers are finally listening.
For too long, the focus has only been on external threats to school safety – investing in security personnel, cameras, locked doors, and emergency response plans. Those are important, but what’s happening inside Texas classrooms has been seemingly ignored.
If you think this isn’t a big deal, let me paint you a picture.
An elementary student has a severe outburst, throwing chairs and knocking over a bookcase, creating a situation that quickly becomes unsafe. The teacher legally cannot physically intervene unless the strategy meets the state’s strict guidelines. The only option is to evacuate the other 21 students for their safety. Think about that for a second. A classroom full of kids has to leave because one child is out of control. They miss valuable instruction, are scared, and shouldn’t have to experience this in a place that should be safe. Meanwhile, the student in crisis isn’t getting the help they need. And the teacher? The person who came into this profession to educate is now navigating dangerous and disruptive situations without the necessary tools to manage them.
This isn’t what education is supposed to look like. In Wylie ISD alone, in just the first six weeks of school, we had over 100 reports of staff injuries caused by students. One of our elementary administrators even suffered black eyes after being headbutted by a student.
A student commits a felony off-campus, such as sexual assault or aggravated assault. The district decides to expel the student to the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program for the safety of everyone.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Well, here’s the problem:
- Because the crime didn’t happen on school property, state law calls this a “discretionary” expulsion.
- That means the district, not the state, has to pay for it.
- And JJAEP? They can say no. If they’re full or just don’t want to take the student, they don’t have to.
Yes, you read that right. The law is written in a way that forces districts to absorb the cost of removing a student who has committed a felony off campus while also allowing JJAEP to refuse to take them.
A high school student cusses out their teacher during class for the second time in three weeks and persistently misbehaves. The Texas Education Agency interprets the law to say schools can suspend students for up to three days, in-school or out-of-school, but that’s it. That means even in extreme cases of disrespect, a school can’t assign a longer in-school suspension, even if it’s the best way to address the behavior. Schools should have the flexibility to enforce consequences that reinforce respect and responsibility and ensure a structured classroom environment. Our staff members deserve respect.
These are not isolated incidents. This is happening across Texas, and it’s why we need real solutions. Now.
We’re not asking for a blank check to suspend or expel kids at will. We’re asking for practical tools to keep our classrooms safe.
House Bill 6 is a step in the right direction. It gives schools:
- MORE FLEXIBILITY TO SUSPEND STUDENTS for repeated or severe disruptions.
- STRONGER SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS dealing with extreme behavior.
- MANDATORY PLACEMENT IN ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS for students who commit serious offenses.
- VIRTUAL EDUCATION OPTION when expulsion is no longer an option.
We need your voice. This is a statewide issue, and lawmakers must hear from parents, teachers, and community members.
We love and support all students, and for the most part, school is great. Still, without real reform, our students will continue to lose out on learning, our teachers will continue to be overwhelmed, our administrators will continue to be consumed by behavior issues, and our schools will continue to be financially punished for prioritizing student safety.
We have an opportunity to address these challenges and uphold our community’s values. This August, I want to be able to stand before our staff and proudly say, “We did it,” and that we turned our BOLD goal into reality. Let’s make sure it happens. Our kids, our teachers, and our schools deserve nothing less. It’s time to get back to doing things the Wylie Way.
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