A Katy, Texas, sixth-grader who was ordered to attend alternative school for four months for writing "I love Alex" on a gymnasium wall may prompt lawmakers to give administrators more leeway in how they punish students. State Rep. Rob Eissler says the legislature did not accomplish what it set out to do in 2005 when it passed a law that gives school districts leeway when meting out discipline. When lawmakers reconvene in 2009, Eissler says lawmakers should tighten up the language to specify that administrators deciding punishment must consider a student's intent, disciplinary history and whether the student has a judgment-impairing disability or acted in self-defense.
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EARLIER: Katy (Texas) Superintendent Alton Frailey says a sixth grader will not have to attend four months in an alternative school for writing "I love Alex" on a gymnasium wall with a Sharpie. Instead, the parents and the school's principal will discuss reasonable discipline options for the offense that will not include out of school suspension or placement in an alternative school. The punishment given to Shelby Sendelbach, a student at Mayde Creek Junior High, sparked outrage and widespread criticism that it was too harsh.
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A school watchdog group is calling for the Katy (Texas) Independent School District to immediately begin an examination of its discipline policy after a sixth-grader was ordered to attend alternative school for four months for writing "I love Alex" on a gymnasium wall. District officials said earlier this week they are reconsidering the punishment and examining what discipline options the district has under state law and local policy.
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The Katy (Texas) Independent School District is reconsidering a decision to send a sixth-grader to alternative school for four months after she confessed to writing "I love Alex" on a school gymnasium wall with a Sharpie. Under a firestorm of criticism, the district is researching discipline options for Shelby Sendelbach, a 12-year-old Mayde Creek Junior High School pupil who was punished by the district with a Level 4 infraction. The graffiti offense—on par with making terroristic threats, drug possession and assault—is punishable as a felony under the district's discipline plan. Only a Level 5 is more severe—for murder, possessing firearms, aggravated or sexual assault and arson.
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A sixth-grader who wrote "I love Alex" on a gymnasium wall in the Katy (Texas) Independent School District will have to attend four months at an alternative campus; school officials are treating the infraction with the same severity as making terroristic threats. Written with a baby blue marker, the graffiti by Shelby Sendelbach, 12, is considered a Level 4 infraction — also the same level for drug possession and assault. Her parents believe the punishment is too harsh and are appealing.
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