By Joseph Edelen

DOVER — Following months of discussions about student behavior and school climate issues in the Delaware, a legislative task force dedicated to developing solutions to these issues held their inaugural meeting at Legislative Hall on April 4.

The group, chaired by Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, features membership from a variety of school staff — ranging from special education professionals to transportation staff and administrators — and builds off of recent legislative efforts to improve educational outcomes for Delaware students and their families.

The meeting was largely informational, as task force members made formal introductions and discussed topics they would like to tackle throughout the committee’s work until its recommendation report is due to the General Assembly and governor by Nov. 1.

Those topics, as outlined by Sen. Townsend, included student behavior such as bullying, harassment and violence and what drives these tendencies; the scope of the problem in the state; district-specific data related to school climate; laws and regulations to address these issues and how funding could be allocated for improvement; and parental accountability.

Sen. Laura Sturgeon, D-Woodbrook, an appointed task force member with 25 years of teaching experience, said there are three important stages regarding school discipline: prevention; what can be done while an incident is occurring; and how school personnel follow through to address the issue.

“Where there was a lot of frustration … was post-infraction. As a classroom teacher, if I were to write that (referral) up… what happens then? If nothing happens … then that would tend to embolden bad behavior in the future,” Sen. Sturgeon said.

“If something happened that was a positive experience for the student, even if it’s a consequence … it can still be an overall positive experience, then (students) were less likely to reinfract.”

Several task force members involved in Delaware schools, such as Stephanie Ingram, president of the Delaware State Educators Association, noted that behavior issues often start at home, calling it an “invisible backpack.”

“They bring what’s happening outside of the school and inside of their communities with them, the things that are happening at home,” Ms. Ingram said. “There’s things that are changing — family dynamics, food insecurity — all of those things they come to school with. We need to make sure that our students come to the classroom ready to learn.”

Throughout the discussion, several educators on the task force expressed their desire for increased professional development opportunities related to restorative practices, so that teachers can be better suited to deal student behavior challenges.

Other topics that were prioritized throughout the inaugural meeting included parental involvement and student attendance issues happening throughout the state.

Further, members such as Red Clay Consolidated School District superintendent Dorrell Green raised concerns regarding the increased presence of social media and its impact on students, as well as substance abuse, alluding to the use of marijuana by high school students in Delaware.

Sen. Eric Buckson, R-Camden, who attempted his own effort to establish a student discipline task force last month, reiterated his position on how student behavior and the lack of consequences negatively impacts students’ ability to succeed in the classroom.

“We got to give respect to the educators who are in the room right now and hear them out,” Sen. Buckson said. “We are not here because of discipline; we’re here because of disruptive behavior and a lack of discipline. That’s why we’re here. We’re not here because of the one or two times (that) one or two kids got in trouble, that’s normal.

“There’s a handful of students that are being allowed, permitted through ineffective (Individualized Education Plans) or ineffective behavior or restorative practices models to remain in the hallways and in the classrooms.”

The Student Behavior and School Climate Task Force had not scheduled any future meetings as of Wednesday, though Sen. Townsend noted that scheduling will be made in the coming weeks with meetings to be held between Milford and Middletown to make in-person attendance easier for members.