SAISD tables code of conduct vote
A vote on changes to the San Antonio Independent School District’s Student Code of Conduct was tabled Monday by its board after a coalition of social justice advocacy groups said it didn’t adequately address the school-to-prison pipeline.
Led by members of a caucus of the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel, the union that represents SAISD teachers and employees, the group asked SAISD trustees to add stronger language to the code stating campus police officers won’t get involved in the discipline process in cases that don’t involve criminal charges.
“We believe that a team of parents, teachers, community members and behavioral and mental health providers are much better equipped than police to take care of our kids,” said Alycia Castillo, a policy consultant with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.
They pointed to Senate Bill 1707, enacted this year, which prohibits police officers from handling routine student discipline and requires districts to define law enforcement duties in their student codes.
“This bill limits and clarifies the role of school resources officers on campuses,” Castillo said.
The group also wants the district to take steps to broaden community input on the revision.
Superintendent Pedro Martinez, in supporting a proposal from trustee Steve Lecholop to postpone the vote, said the district agrees with the critics, and he wished a letter they sent Monday morning outlining desires for the code had been shared with the district earlier.
“We agree with them. Many of those elements will be implemented,” Martinez said.
Senior Executive Director Beth Jones, who was the project leader, said her team sought input from a group of randomly selected students and collected surveys from more students, teachers and parents over a yearlong period. She called it a “living document” that would evolve as students continued to provide input.
Luke Amphlett, a teacher at Luther Burbank High School and member of PODER, the union’s social justice caucus, said the union wanted to work with the district on the Student Bill of Rights and Code of Conduct and was repeatedly told it would have a chance to discuss and review the changes.
“Because it didn’t happen, we’re mobilizing around the board meeting instead,” Amphlett said.
PODER and several other groups, including Texas Appleseed, the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, signed the letter sent to trustees Monday and spoke at the board meeting.
Advocates worry that, in addition to the school-to-prison pipeline, students will enter what is now called a school-to-deportation pipeline. Information of students who are arrested and jailed may be shared with immigration authorities, said Gabriella Beker, an engagement specialist with the ACLU of Texas.
“Just the possibility of getting entangled in deportation proceedings can be distracting and anxiety-inducing for a student,” Beker said.
Some of their critics, including Castillo, praised the district for “making enormous strides in … highlighting issues of disproportionality and disparity.”
“I want to celebrate that and the awareness that was brought to that in the recent Student Code of Conduct,” Castillo said. “And I want to ask for action to follow that awareness.”