Rantz: Teachers end suspensions, boot police, but now complain about school safety

Washington teachers are voicing alarm over escalating school safety issues, asking lawmakers to do something about the threat. But their complaints are a direct consequence of policies their unions championed just a few years ago.

A Federal Way special education teacher told KIRO 7 that she was jumped by a student and was left so severely injured that she’s been on worker’s comp for over a year. She said that her school is “not a safe environment.” As KIRO 7 points out, she’s not the only teacher who has suffered significant injuries from students in Washington schools. 

“When teachers go into an environment, they should be guaranteed that it’s a safe environment,” the teacher explained. “Safe physically, mentally.”

Even if that guarantee were possible, it’s an ironic ask. It was teachers and their unions that pushed to remove School Resource Officers (SROs) from campuses and to curtail suspensions and expulsions under the banner of combating systemic racism. Those politically-motivated decisions fostered environments where both educators and students feel increasingly unsafe.

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Why are schools more dangerous for teachers? The teachers did it

Who could have foreseen school safety issues becoming top of mind after removing SROs or significantly curtailing suspensions or expulsions of dangerous students? Literally anyone. But teachers demanded these moves anyway.

During the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, police were villainized and activists pretended students and staff felt unsafe on campus if police were there. Then, they were booted from campus. 

Seattle Public Schools suspended its partnership with the Seattle Police Department. Then-Superintendent Denise Juneau said the district was inspired by the George Floyd death and said the move was made to avoid triggering students. Similar stances were taken in Edmonds, Olympia and Bellevue. And despite an uptick in crime, districts still shunned police.

The Bellevue Education Association, for example, passed a resolution in 2022 to oppose reinstating SROs. They pretended school safety issues were the result of police, not dangerous students. Citing concerns about the impact on black students, Jill Rock, president of the Bellevue Education Association, advocated for reallocating funds toward mental and behavioral health professionals instead. 

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Education stopped leaning on necessary suspensions and expulsions

At the same time, also part of the Black Lives Matter movement, unions and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction were claiming that school disciplinary programs were systemically racist because “students of color” were being disproportionately suspended or expelled. They did not seem to care if their reforms would impact school safety in Washington.

They pointed to data showing black students across the state have consistently received the most discipline among each racial subgroup since tracking began. Native American students also experience higher rates of suspensions and expulsions. Consequently, Democrats passed legislation restricting discipline and districts made it less likely for students to face serious consequences for their behavior.

Spokane Public Schools initiated a district-wide implementation of restorative justice across all 54 schools. Seattle Public Schools made expulsions rare, instead pushing “inclusivity and cultural responsiveness that respects and values the diversity in schools and in classrooms across the district with an intentional focus on African American boys and teens.” The Clover Park School District embraced a race-conscious disciplinary process that took a student’s race into account before deciding how that student would be disciplined. 

No one argued that white and Asian students were unfairly avoiding suspension or expulsion for the same behavior. They weren’t even arguing that black students were falsely accused. Instead, they used a lazy argument that because one group represents a large percentage of disciplined students, relative to their population, the policy must be racist. Teachers and unions somehow managed to avoid labeling themselves as racist for sending a black or Native American student to the principal’s office for discipline.

But if the behavior was happening — and still is — but they refuse to discipline, they’re bringing the safety concerns on themselves.

There is a problem around school safety that should be addressed

There’s undoubtedly a school safety problem impacting districts across the state. But to address this issue, teachers should stop demanding help from the state and start looking in the mirror.

Teachers should reassess the balance between woke disciplinary reform and their desire to maintain safe schools. They should recognize that the removal of SROs and the severe reduction of traditional disciplinary actions, absent truly effective alternatives, have repercussions that they’re not experiencing. Want safer schools? Bring SROs back on campus and suspend and expel kids who pose a clear risk.

The state legislature is unlikely to address the concerns. State Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-Seattle) chairs the House Education Committee. She implied suspensions or expulsions are rarely necessary, especially since Washington students are guaranteed a right to public education. 

“There are two sides to the story. It is important that teachers be heard. It’s also important that we remember why we have an education system,” Tomiko Santos explained to KIRO 7.

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