Senate committee hears bill to let teachers temporarily remove disruptive students; disability advocates warn of legal conflicts

HELENA — The Senate Education Committee on Thursday opened a hearing on Senate Bill 138, a measure from Senator Russ Temple that would allow teachers to temporarily remove a disruptive student from class and require a written plan before the student returns.

Temple, R-District 14, said the measure aims to “empower Montana teachers to maintain a positive, productive learning environment for our kids by allowing them to temporarily remove students from their classroom because of the behavior of an individual.” He said the change is intended to protect students who want to learn and to retain teachers who are leaving classrooms because of disruptive behavior.

The bill drew support from classroom advocates and union representatives who said teacher authority to address disruption is already a working model in many districts. Kim Popham, director of public policy and research for the Montana Federation of Public Employees, told the committee: “The number 1 challenge teachers in the field have is that they can't afford to live and work in their communities. And the second most commonly shared challenge is that student behaviors are…