The vote on the new contract between Hartford Public Schools and Hartford Federation of Teachers was supposed to happen on December 20, 2013, but did not actually occur until January 9, 2014, one day after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued a strong statement on how public schools should avoid harsh punishments. On Wednesday, Holder said:

As it stands, far too many students across the country are diverted from the path to success by unnecessarily harsh discipline policies and practices that exclude them from school for minor infractions.  During critical years that are proven to impact a student’s later chances for success, alarming numbers of young people are suspended, expelled, or even arrested for relatively minor transgressions like school uniform violations, schoolyard fights, or showing “disrespect” by laughing in class.

Too often, so-called “zero-tolerance” policies – however well-intentioned – make students feel unwelcome in their own schools.  They disrupt the learning process.   And they can have significant and lasting negative effects on the long-term well-being of our young people – increasing their likelihood of future contact with juvenile and criminal justice systems.

Hartford has not been an exception. It has been reported that police have been involved not just in our high schools, but the elementary and middle schools in Hartford. One school in particular, Achievement First, has been sharply criticized for its discipline practices. Capital Prep Magnet School has described itself as taking pride in its discipline. Yet last week, the attorney general said, “We’ve seen that severe discipline policies often increase the numbers of suspensions and expulsions without effectively making schools safer or creating better learning environments.”

Given the timing and the existing struggles to get discipline right, it may seem odd that there had been a push to eliminate the School Discipline Committee from the public schools. The Hartford Board of Education came to an agreement with the Hartford Federation of Teachers that these are allowed to remain in the schools, but the wording essentially renders these groups useless. It is said that “because of FERPA [FERPA is the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act] there shall be no discussion of any individual student whether by name or by reference at any meeting convened under this provision. If any discussion references specific students or incidents the principal or designee shall have the authority to immediately discontinue/cancel the meeting.”

This is an interesting application of FERPA, as the federal law contains many exceptions allowing non-consensual release of student records for reasons less pertinent than internal assessment of how a student’s discipline was handled by authorities at a given school. The School Discipline Committee is typically composed of the school’s principal, a social worker, and several teachers. The purpose of these monthly meetings is to review discipline referral forms, as well as any school-wide incidents or issues. These meetings are not open to the general public and do not review private documents like IEPs or 504 plans (Individualized Education Plans for students with disabilities).

By leaning on FERPA, the school discipline committees can no longer — if the principal or designee decides as much — discuss if, for instance, calling the police to the school for a particular student’s behavior was appropriate or an abuse of authority. If the social worker and teachers determine that a principal has overstepped his or her boundaries by issuing too many in/outside school suspensions, there is not much they can do about this under the new agreement. It would be challenging to actually talk about the disposition of each case involving suspension or expulsion without having potentially referenced an individual student. If a teacher and social worker have concerns about a student and want to strategize the best way to get him or her help while in crisis, the principal or designee can point to FERPA and shut that entire conversation down.

Also last week, the Hartford Public Schools attempted to eliminate the PPO Health Plan and transfer all members to the HSA Plan. After negotiations, it was decided that the current health plan would remain in place, with some cost share increases. Any new hires after July 1, 2014 would be enrolled in the HSA Plan; current members could opt in.

Although ultimately no changes were made to the status quo, there had been discussion about eliminating certain requirements for filling vacancies, namely those related to certification, experience, specialized training, and educational background.  There was also talk of scratching teachers’ prep time.