Discipline problems are dropping in Hillsborough schools, officials say
Reports of fighting, tardiness, vaping and other common school infractions have dropped considerably from this time last year, Hillsborough County school district leaders told the school board at a work session Tuesday.
Overall, disciplinary referrals dropped from 66,313 to 58,963 when two mid-year reports were compared. The number of times students were caught skipping class dropped by more than 2,400.
“We’re talking about an overall 11% decrease,” said Superintendent Van Ayres. “All improvements we want to make as a district, all the gains we want to make start with the students being in class.”
Behavior, which is widely recognized to have worsened after the 2020 COVID shutdown, is an important issue as the district works to rebound from disappointing academic results in 2022-23. In that year, Hillsborough schools received more D and F grades from the state than any other district in Florida. Teacher turnover — which is exacerbated by behavior problems — is also considered a factor.
Ayres and his team believe this year’s numbers were helped by increased use of a strategy called Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, a researched-based system that addresses students’ emotional needs while working towards consistency in disciplinary practices.
Teachers and administrators are receiving training in the strategy at the University of South Florida, and the district says it now has 67 schools using it.
District leaders also made a concerted effort to monitor middle and high schools, where most of the infractions occur. Schools get “discipline report cards” every two weeks that show administrators the trends on their campuses, broken down by race. The reports also make it clear when one student has multiple referrals.
Despite the encouraging numbers, school board members had questions and concerns.
Chairperson Karen Perez, studying the racial breakdown of the reported incidents, noted that even in this improved year, 48,118 of the 58,963 incidents — 82% — were among Black or Hispanic and multiracial students.
“That’s unacceptable,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s one child that was sent home 48,000 times. That number is still unacceptable.”
Seventeen percent were among white students, who make up 30% of enrollment.
Board member Stacy Hahn noted that many of today’s teachers pursue alternative certification methods instead of taking the traditional path of majoring in education in college, where they are taught classroom management skills.
“Now we’re certifying teachers really quick and dirty,” she said. Often they are placed in high-needs schools, where the demand is greatest, “and they’re not really prepared.” Hahn suggested the district find ways to make up for the gaps in training.
Board member Nadia Combs said it is important to remember that the vast majority students adhere to school rules. And she urged the board, as she has in the past, to consider a ban on cell phones in class.
The board and district staff also discussed the need to fill administrative positions at all schools to avoid situations in which students are unsupervised in between classes.
“When we looked at these report cards, especially in middle and high school, the referrals weren’t coming from the classroom,” said Joshua Kristol, the district’s general director of climate and culture.
“The majority were from everywhere outside the classroom. The majority were happening where there weren’t eyes.”
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