School reform laws: No cell phones get positive reviews in Lubbock; other changes welcomed, but not all

A long list of school discipline reforms kicking in across Texas this week is mostly welcomed in Lubbock – but the biggest impact is no cell phones.

“It’s been really good to see the kids interacting in classrooms. Student conversation – student voice – is up. Students are engaged, so that has helped,” Bryan Ellyson, director of student and parent resolutions for Lubbock ISD said.

“If you go to lunch, there are campuses that are utilizing the old-school board games and so kids are playing board games. They’re having conversation face to face – conversations with each other. So, it’s been kind of cool to see. Even like the old-school method of passing notes has returned,” he added.

Texas classrooms will be “a far better place” this year, according to State Senator Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, who promoted the series of school discipline reforms. Perry told LubbockLights.com in March that classrooms had become a violent and dangerous “war zone.”

Protecting teachers from violent students and potential retaliation by school administrators was a high priority for Perry. His senate bills did not pass but instead provisions he wanted were put into other legislation which Perry touted as “100 percent of what I would ask for.”

“[The new law] reflects a whole different attitude about schoolhouse discipline, and teachers are going to be the beneficiaries of it,” Perry said.

Beyond cell phones, other big changes are allowing discipline for younger students and making teachers not fear reprisals for disciplining students.

Suspension now possible for kindergarten and pre-k

Kids as young as kindergarten started acting violently after COVID, according to Clinton Gill of Lubbock, organizational development specialist for the Texas State Teachers Association.

“We’re seeing a lot of outbursts from those kids and actions that you normally wouldn’t see in such a young child,” Gill said.

Why that happened after COVID, he’s just not sure.

“But under the previous law, pre-kindergarten through third grade weren’t allowed to necessarily be disciplined with things like suspension,” Gill said.

The first of the big changes this year Gill mentioned to LubbockLights.com was out-of-school suspension for younger students.

“Students, no matter what their age, pre-kindergarten through third grade, also face disciplinary action if they’re showing discipline issues in the classroom,” Gill said.

Under the new law, suspension for the younger students can only be for the most serious trouble like bringing weapons to school, threatening the immediate health and safety of others, illegal drugs, alcohol, or repeated serious disruptions of the classroom.

Aaron Waldrip, superintendent of Lubbock-Cooper ISD, agreed removing the age limit for suspension was a big change.

“It does give districts a little more flexibility on enforcing consequences and suspensions for younger students,” Waldrip said.

But Waldrip, like LISD’s Ellyson, emphasizes keeping kids in the classroom whenever possible.

“Days that they are removed from that classroom – that’s days that they are missing the learning that is occurring in the classroom,” Ellyson said.

“It’s an academic hit to them. … And trying to catch that student up is difficult for everybody involved,” Ellyson added.

The new law gives districts more flexibility to use “virtual” learning for a student removed from the classroom.

Ellyson is not anxious to pursue that option, asking, “Sending them to a virtual setting – is that really solving the problem, or is that just making it worse?”

Gill agrees it’s better to have a student in class but that can only go so far.

“If that student is constantly being a disruption in the class or if they’ve assaulted a teacher or something along those lines, that disciplinary action needs to follow because the teacher shouldn’t be subject to any sort of assault,” Gill said

No student should be forced into a classroom where there is danger, Gill said. It must be safe and nurturing.

More authority to remove students

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) said the new law “expanded authority for a teacher to remove a student from their classroom … which can be based on a single incident of misconduct.”

Teachers can remove a student for “behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or abusive toward the teacher, another adult, or another student.”

Repeatedly interfering with a teacher’s ability to “communicate effectively” can also result in removal. It was already that way, but in the past, it needed to be repeated and documented, Ellyson said.

The new law clarified the wording and allowed for a single incident in some cases.

The student cannot return until either the teacher has consented in writing or there is a return-to-class plan after a meeting of the school administration (usually the campus behavior coordinator), the student, the parent or guardian, and the teacher who removed the student.

A TEA document said, “The teacher must be offered the opportunity to participate but does not have to attend.”

Waldrip hopes this will not be a big change for his district, saying, “I don’t foresee many instances where teachers are going to be formally removing a student from their classroom.”

Perry said the new law brings clarity.

“Districts weren’t clear on what they could do. … I think districts and admins will have an easier task dealing with the discipline problems that the most egregious kids in the classrooms gave them,” Perry said.

Teacher immunity from retaliation

As of September 1, a professional school employee has immunity from discharge or non-renewal of a contract for reporting a violation or taking action “in good faith” to remove a student from class. That same teacher protection applies to actions by the State Board for Educator Certification.

This is a big deal for teachers, Gill said.

“That’s their right as a teacher to make sure that their classroom and the school as a whole is safe and secure,” Gill said.

Perry pushed for immunity and was willing to revisit the issue if it had not passed.

In March, Perry spoke in front of the Senate Committee on Education K-16, saying, “That whistleblower statute, if you will, that’s immunity from retaliation by the district. I think it’s critical to make sure teachers are comfortable and can actually report what’s going on in their class without fear of losing their job, their benefits, or other suspension.”

In speaking with LubbockLights.com in late August, Perry said, “[The law] will, to the best of our abilities, assure that the kids that are in the classroom are there in a respectful way that provides a conducive environment to learn. Teachers can teach and all students can learn. And we believe that’s going to be a positive impact over time.”

Cell phone ban went surprisingly well

The new law forbidding students from using cell phones went surprisingly well, according to everyone LubbockLights.com spoke with for this story.

“Actually, teachers are texting in that, ‘Our best week ever was this past week,’ because of the cell phone ban. So, teachers now are getting to teach again,” Perry said.

Gill said, “We’ve heard nothing but good things about that from the teachers that kids are not on their cell phones anymore. They’re actually paying attention in class.”

Waldrip said parents and students at Lubbock-Cooper were surprisingly supportive.

“They didn’t feel pressured to check their phones and respond to notifications that they’re receiving. So, it was almost a little relief for them,” Waldrip said.

E-cigarette crackdown & loss of local control

Any student caught vaping or using any kind of e-cigarette faces mandatory punishment – either DAEP or a 10-day in-school-suspension. The crackdown isn’t new, but there is a new twist.

Districts like the Lubbock ISD can no longer get an exemption to the rule with a “district of innovation” plan. That’s particularly disappointing for Ellyson.

“Kids sometimes make a kid choice,” Ellyson said.

The vapes can be dangerous because, as Ellyson explained, “It can be nicotine, or it could be something else.”

“We had a drug intervention program and we implemented that through our ‘district of innovation’ plan. Administrators had some discretion. And if a student was caught in possession or under the influence, then they could be placed in the drug intervention program and helped to avoid a DAEP placement,” Ellyson said.

“We’ve partnered with Tech Health Science Center. They helped us create the curriculum. We use a book called Know Your Neuro,” Ellyson said.

He said 322 students were placed in the 12-day program with 257 completing it. Of that number, eight of them ended up in DAEP – four for a drug offense, Ellyson said.

“It was very successful,” Ellyson said.

“What we were told by our lawmakers … is that they really thought we had a good program. It’s just others across the state weren’t as strong,” Ellyson said.

“That hurt us,” he said.

Texas districts were using the innovation plans for other things like “exempting themselves from teacher certification for foundation subjects and parent notification requirements,” according to the Texas Classroom Teachers Association.

Could the new laws have been better?

Gill was mostly in support of the new laws, but he’s not a fan of obligating schools to display the Ten Commandments.

“Teachers are there to teach public schools … not Sunday school classrooms,” Gill said.

Perry disagreed; “Who can argue with the merits of what the Ten Commandments reflect? They’re just good values.”

Statewide, school districts are waiting for the courts to rule on the issue of the Ten Commandments with officials guessing the final ruling will come in time for the 2026/27 school year.

Gill also said, “What we would like to have seen in House Bill 6 is potentially more funding for things like counselors and social-emotional-learning people to be on the campuses.”

Perry pointed out that the state did put resources into mental health. House Bill 6 requires schools to let parents know about TCHATT (Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine). TCHATT makes licensed mental health professionals available via the internet through medical schools such as the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center.

The University of Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor University and others also provide TCHATT.

The new laws also allow students an excused absence for an appointment with a mental health professional. (The student must commence or return to class the same day.)

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