Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/34960
BUDGET CUTS EXACERBATE SAFETY CONCERNS intentionally tripped her. Davis says it was no accident; she felt his leg across her shins. She was taken to the hospital, and surgery was required to fix her arm. Davis now works at the school as a part-time tutor and plans to retire early. “I’m not the same,” she says. “I’ve had some memory loss, and my balance is very poor. I used to be strong and asser- tive as a teacher. But now I can’t go back to the class- room. I’m not strong enough physically, emotionally or psychologically. I’m in con- stant pain, and I don’t have full use of my left arm.” Because she was not the student in a van to bring him to school, she was attacked by the 8-year-old boy. “He punched me and kicked me and bit me,” says Phenicie, a transportation assistant for the Colusa County Office of Education. “I had to pry his mouth off my arm. I had bruises and teeth marks. There was no broken skin because I was wearing a sweat shirt.” Phenicie, a Colusa County Sylvia Aquino “teacher of record,” Davis wasn’t told that the student had the potential for violence, says Sylvia Aquino, who represented Davis in court and is vice president of VTA. After the incident, the two learned that the stu- dent, who attended general education classes, had “special education issues,” but due to confidentiality laws, they were not given details. Davis says that if she had known the student could become vi- olent, she would have acted differently and not walked near him. Davis and Aquino then took action that made head- line news. After the student was suspended for five days and then returned to school, they sought a restraining order against the student. A tempo- rary restraining order was eventually granted after six courthouse visits by Davis, and shortly thereafter, the stu- dent’s parents voluntarily re- moved him from the school. Vacaville Teachers Association ESP member, says the student knew right from wrong “with- out question,” and lashed out at her because he didn’t want to go to school. After the at- tack, she refused to drive him to school and left him with his mother. She completed her route and then returned to the district office to file an incident re- port. Eventually the student transferred out of the district. She has also had a student act up while she was driving on the freeway. He threw shoes at her, unbuckled his seat belt and threatened to come out of his seat. It was terrifying to have a student become violent while driving in traffic, she says, since she was unable to pull over and protect herself. Legislation about restraining students While educators are Linda Nimer Fresno Teachers Association Danger on the bus Students can also commit violent acts against school employees when they are not on school property, as Yvonne Phenicie can attest. While picking up a special education demanding stronger safety precautions and procedures, legislators want to reduce pro- tections already in place. As- sembly Bill 519 by Assembly Member Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) would re- strict the ability of educators and school personnel to physi- cally restrain violent, out-of- control students. Similar federal legislation that would prohibit school personnel from restraining students has been introduced by U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez). Members of the Senate Education by Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Teachers say budget cuts have contributed to violent, out-of-con- trol student behavior in the Bakers- field City School District. Class size has increased; the district has gone from 40 counselors to 11; suspen- sions of students have been reduced; and the closing of an alternative school meant students with behav- ior problems returned to regular schools. To save money, the district reduced student suspensions by nearly half. Bakersfield Elementary Teachers Association (BETA) mem- bers say they are afraid to go to work, and are demanding that the district turn things around. Teachers have been slapped, pushed and had eggs thrown at them in class, yet students are rarely suspended or expelled, says Brad Barnes, BETA president. The district has agreed to form a task force to look into the problem, but BETA members say they need help imme- diately and can’t wait. They are fearful that more cuts next year will make problems worse. “It’s an outrage,” says Barnes. “These incidents have really angered teachers, and it’s too bad the admin- istration has to be prodded into tak- ing action against these kids.’” Teachers at Stiern Middle School say that some of the violent students acting out this year have IEPs (Indi- vidualized Education Programs for special education) and 504 plans (for disabilities), but not all. Katie Hollman, a Stiern math teacher, says, “I don’t think we have ‘bad’ kids, but we are allowing them to get away with whatever they want. It has to stop.” JUNE 2011 | www.cta.org 19