Parents press Anderson schools to limit PCEAs, increase discipline transparency and age‑appropriate responses
Loading...
Summary
A delegation of parents urged the board to stop using probationary continued‑education agreements (PCEAs) in low‑level cases, asked for PCEA removals from records, and requested disaggregated discipline data and trauma‑informed, age‑appropriate approaches for middle‑school students.
A coalition of parents told the Anderson Community Schools board they want changes to how the district documents and disciplines students of color and middle‑school students in particular. The group said PCEAs are being applied in situations that do not involve clear safety risks and requested that existing PCEAs be removed from students' records as part of greater transparency efforts.
"PCEAs should be reserved for serious offenses that pose clear risk to safety," the parents' representative said during a public‑comment presentation, urging the district to replace vague referral language such as "defiant" or "aggressive" with objective descriptions of behaviors and the interventions used before escalation.
Parents asked for discipline data broken down by race, gender and offense type and requested tracking of student pathways from alternative placements (Compass, online settings) to ensure equitable placement decisions. They also requested opportunities to participate on district committees and asked the district to expedite support for children needing 504 or mental‑health evaluations.
During the public comment period, an individual parent introduced as Shidea Smith described her 12‑year‑old son's experience in online placement after a change from in‑person instruction and asked for district help to return him to school, citing emotional challenges and a need for human interaction.
Board members acknowledged the requests and several said the district will continue dialogues with parents. Tammy Dixon Tatum (speaker 14) asked whether parents had been interviewed during the audit; district staff said they conducted staff interviews and document reviews and that parents can be part of ongoing town halls and committees. Several board members urged the formation of follow‑up meetings over the coming weeks to work through the discipline matrix and data requests.
Ending: Parents asked for an expedited follow-up meeting within 5–10 business days and for formal sharing of notes and next steps with the board; district staff agreed to continue engagement and to assist individual families with evaluations and documentation where appropriate.
