What lessons are we teaching with Senate Bill 274?

Earlier this month, the California Legislature passed SB274 (at the Senate level) that will eliminate suspension of students of “willful defiance.” The bill’s authors state such suspensions unfairly target Black students (without making any data public for readers to review).

It begs the question, what message are our political leaders sending to the youth? “It is OK to disrupt classrooms, show hostility toward teachers and other students, and face no consequences?”

Every parent understands that when low-level behavior issues are left unchecked, it results in high-level behavior issues. The politicians who voted Yes on this bill are failing students on two fronts. Firstly, they are harming the same group of people they’re claiming to protect because once they’re out of school, they’ll be faced with a different set of realities. Secondly, they’re not setting correct expectations of what they need to do to be successful after school — they are, in effect, lying.

Many middle schools in San Mateo-Foster City School District have reported behavior challenges. If this bill is enacted, it will take away discretionary authority from school administrators, principals and teachers to run the school.

The bill makes it sound like suspension is the first step administrators take, the reality is it is the last step when all else has failed.

Parents and voters should be wary of these virtue-signaling bills and the politicians who support it at the expense of school safety.

Amit Saini

Foster City