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Parents push back on tougher skipping-school punishments after policy move
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Summary
A parent urged the Williamson County school board not to increase penalties for skipping school at the April 20 meeting, after superintendent Golden said skipping had been moved from misbehavior Level 1 to Level 2 — making in-school suspension a possible consequence.
Samantha Ozan, a Franklin parent, told the Williamson County Board of Education on April 20 that increasing punishments for skipping school would be "wrong," saying her son received a full-day in-school suspension for leaving campus during lunch despite returning before missing class time.
"The punishment should fit the crime," Ozan said, urging the board not to impose harsher penalties for a first offense.
The change prompting her comment was described earlier in the superintendent's report: Golden said the district has reclassified skipping class so it now appears in misbehavior Level 2 rather than Level 1. He explained that Level 2 disciplinary options can include in-school suspension and detention and that a verbal reprimand is no longer included at that level.
Golden framed the change as part of a larger set of disciplinary updates the district discussed at its work session and said staff are implementing housekeeping edits to the disciplinary options. He also told the board that IEP teams, when relevant, make placement decisions for students with disabilities.
The board approved its consent agenda (including policy items that were on second reading) earlier in the meeting; there was no separate roll-call vote at the meeting specifically increasing penalties for skipping beyond the policy materials presented. Parents at the meeting urged the board to ensure discipline does not become a tool to punish political expression, and to preserve discretion so consequences match individual circumstances.
