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Teacher tells Barstow board student violence is being tolerated under BIP; raises safety and retention concerns
Summary
A teacher, speaking during public comment, said a student's violent behavior was being treated as a disability-related issue and handled only through a BIP, raising safety, liability and student-retention concerns and requesting clearer interventions.
Brian Woolly, a district teacher, told the Barstow Unified School District board on Feb. 11 that a recent behavioral incident was handled in a way he described as insufficient and unsafe.
During public comment, Woolly said he was told the student's violence should be addressed through the student's Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) and that staff were being told the conduct was part of a disability and therefore tolerated. "If he is allowed to be in the class without any other changes outside of positive redirection... then what are we doing for the bullying aspect of this?" Woolly asked.
Woolly said the approach undermines safety and could cause families to withdraw students: "we are losing good students hand over fist to our competitors because they don't feel safe," he said. He also said that, when he checked, there was no ABA (applied behavior analysis) discussion documented from the related meeting.
Board response: the transcript shows a brief thanks and no recorded substantive follow-up from trustees in the public meeting. Staff later presented personnel and operations reports but the transcript does not show an immediate plan or remedial action announced at the dais.
What to watch: concerns raised about classroom safety, documentation of behavior plans and the use or absence of ABA interventions may prompt follow-up from district staff, campus administrators or special-education teams.
