California law will make student suspensions for "willful defiance" illegal
SACRAMENTO – By July of next year, it will be illegal for public schools in California to suspend students for low-level behavior issues after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation banning "willful defiance" suspensions among TK through 12th grade students throughout the state.
Newsom on Sunday approved Senate Bill 274, which takes effect July 1, 2024. Under SB 274, introduced by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, willful defiance suspensions are barred in grades 6-12, with a sunset of July 1, 2029, in all California public schools.
According to Skinner's office, SB 274 builds on Skinner's 2019 legislation, Senate Bill 419, which was signed into law by Newsom and permanently banned willful defiance suspensions in grades TK to 5 and prohibited them in grades 6 to 8 until 2025.
"Since my start in the state Senate in 2016, I've worked to end willful defiance suspensions in our public schools. The reason is simple: Suspending students, no matter the age, doesn't improve student behavior, and it greatly increases the likelihood that the student will fail or drop out," Skinner said in a statement Monday.
"With Governor Newsom's signing of SB 274, California is putting the needs of students first. No more kicking kids out of school for minor disruptions. Students belong in school where they can succeed," she added.
Historically, in California and around the nation, willful defiance suspensions have typically been levied for low-level disruptions, such as a student wearing a hat backward, falling asleep in class, or "talking back to a teacher," Skinner's office said.
Willful defiance suspensions have been disproportionately directed at students of color, LGBTQ students, students who are homeless or in foster care, and those with disabilities, the senator's office said.
Under SB 274, teachers would be able to remove a student from a specific class for unruly behavior, but the youth would not be suspended from school. Instead, it would be up to school administrators to determine appropriate and timely in-school interventions or support for the student.
SB 274 was supported by a coalition of more than 60 organizations and sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, American Civil Liberties Union California Action, Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement, Dolores Huerta Foundation and Disability Rights California, among others.
