|
|
|
The state House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill April 26 that would raise the age at which students must be reported to the criminal justice system for committing certain misdemeanors in schools.
Republican lawmakers battered sponsor Rep. Michael A. Barbieri, D-Newark, over the proposal, House Bill 347, which would require administrators to notify law enforcement if a student older than 12 commits third-degree assault, third-degree unlawful sexual contact, offensive touching or terroristic threatening on school grounds.
Currently, the law requires mandatory reporting of those incidents if the alleged offender is age nine or older.
“We’re not talking about cake knives, we’re talking about assault, sexual contact and terroristic threats,” said Rep. Greg Lavelle, R-Sharpley, referring to an incident where a student was expelled for bringing a knife to school for the purposes of cutting a cake in the classroom.
The legislation was drafted on a recommendation from the School Discipline Task Force, a panel of education officials and criminal justice workers chaired by Barbieri and charged with rethinking, among other things, the state’s zero-tolerance policy for certain in-school offenses committed by students.
Barbieri said the task force agreed it does not serve children well to introduce them to the criminal justice system at an early age for relatively minor childhood offenses, such as fighting.
In addition, he said the criminal justice system, particularly Family Court, is facing a tremendous backlog of serious cases and does not have the time to adjudicate these types of charges.
Barbieri said the measure was roundly endorsed by school officials and law enforcement, especially school resource officers, the police officers that work in schools.
“The school resource officers said, ‘I’m tired of having to hold kids on my shoulders to take a mug shot,’” he said.
Rep. Joseph Miro, R-Pike Creek Valley, said the bill does parents a disservice since school officials would not have to report violent incidents that occur at their children’s schools.
“Parents are going to be more concerned, more apprehensive about their children’s safety in school,” he said. “I’m not sure this legislation does what it’s intended to do.”
Barbieri said the bill would not allow school officials to sweep incidents under the rug, since it compels administrators to handle them in-house on a case-by-case basis.
School handbooks and codes of conduct also require schools to take disciplinary action and contact parents when an incident occurs, he added.
The state House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill April 26 that would raise the age at which students must be reported to the criminal justice system for committing certain misdemeanors in schools.
Republican lawmakers battered sponsor Rep. Michael A. Barbieri, D-Newark, over the proposal, House Bill 347, which would require administrators to notify law enforcement if a student older than 12 commits third-degree assault, third-degree unlawful sexual contact, offensive touching or terroristic threatening on school grounds.
Currently, the law requires mandatory reporting of those incidents if the alleged offender is age nine or older.
“We’re not talking about cake knives, we’re talking about assault, sexual contact and terroristic threats,” said Rep. Greg Lavelle, R-Sharpley, referring to an incident where a student was expelled for bringing a knife to school for the purposes of cutting a cake in the classroom.
The legislation was drafted on a recommendation from the School Discipline Task Force, a panel of education officials and criminal justice workers chaired by Barbieri and charged with rethinking, among other things, the state’s zero-tolerance policy for certain in-school offenses committed by students.
Barbieri said the task force agreed it does not serve children well to introduce them to the criminal justice system at an early age for relatively minor childhood offenses, such as fighting.
In addition, he said the criminal justice system, particularly Family Court, is facing a tremendous backlog of serious cases and does not have the time to adjudicate these types of charges.
Barbieri said the measure was roundly endorsed by school officials and law enforcement, especially school resource officers, the police officers that work in schools.
“The school resource officers said, ‘I’m tired of having to hold kids on my shoulders to take a mug shot,’” he said.
Rep. Joseph Miro, R-Pike Creek Valley, said the bill does parents a disservice since school officials would not have to report violent incidents that occur at their children’s schools.
“Parents are going to be more concerned, more apprehensive about their children’s safety in school,” he said. “I’m not sure this legislation does what it’s intended to do.”
Barbieri said the bill would not allow school officials to sweep incidents under the rug, since it compels administrators to handle them in-house on a case-by-case basis.
School handbooks and codes of conduct also require schools to take disciplinary action and contact parents when an incident occurs, he added.
Furthermore, Barbieri noted that a parent always has the right to call police if he or she wants charges filed, regardless of the alleged offender’s age.
Other Republicans questioned why the task force chose 12 as the appropriate age to initiate charges for an in-school incident.
Rep. Thomas Kovach, R-Brandywine Hundred South, called the proposed age limit “arbitrary.”
Majority Leader Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth, said younger children are not mature enough to understand the ramifications of their actions.
“Not every child needs to be in the criminal justice system,” he said. “At nine, 10 and 11 years old, they’re still growing, they’re still learning, in their own way, what’s acceptable.”
Barbieri said the proposed rules for these particular in-school offenses mirror what happens in the real world.
“How many times do you see two nine-year-olds pushing each other and call the police?” he asked.
After an hour and a half of debate, nine representatives voted against the bill with eight recorded as not voting. Two members were absent.
The bill passed with 22 votes, one more than was required for approval.
Email Doug Denison at doug.denison@doverpost.com.
