When the school bell rings on a given Monday morning, a teacher somewhere will begin class only to be interrupted by a misbehaving student, a principal will be too consumed with paperwork to observe a newly hired teacher and the disrespectful student referred for suspension will be back in class with a note from the front office saying: “Since no parental conference was held, prior to the referral, we cannot suspend the student at this time.”
Such scenes play out daily across Colorado. Schools are increasingly over-burdened by rules and regulations that undermine the professional authority of teachers and principals to manage schools effectively. Something is seriously awry when teachers feel unable to take children on school trips for fear of being sued and when something as simple as hosting an after-school activity requires lengthy procedures and compliance measures to prevent liability.
How did our schools get to this state?
The 1960s began an era of turning to legislation as the first solution to society’s problems. In the name of due process and free speech, our society began to legally challenge a school’s authority to suspend a student, fire an employee or to assign a particular grade. The idea was to guarantee fairness and protect individual rights, but rules are rigid and rarely fit the complexities of real life. Decision-making authority has gradually been taken away from those in charge.
The chart at left, part of Common Good Colorado’s Over-Ruled Schools project, depicts the convoluted, bureaucratic process that teachers and administrators must undertake in order to suspend a disruptive student. It defies common sense and costs the schools precious time and money. (A more detailed electronic version of this chart and a chart on teacher dismissal are at www.cgood.org/colorado.)
During the 2004-05 school year, there were 71,000 student suspensions in Colorado public schools. If we conservatively estimate that it takes teachers and administrators an average of eight hours to deal with each suspension, that’s the equivalent in hours of approximately 400 full-time teaching positions That is time not spent educating students, but rather spent on paperwork, meetings and legal action.
But bureaucracy in schools doesn’t stop there. There is a lengthy legal process involved with dismissing teachers. The process can go so far as to include a hearing before the Colorado Supreme Court. A case study developed as a part of the Over-Ruled Schools project followed a teacher who violated various district policies and refused to teach the set curriculum. The dismissal process took 27 months and cost taxpayers $87,360.
The sad reality is that since it is so difficult to fire incompetent teachers, principals are more likely to encourage them to transfer to other schools. This system allows bad teachers to float from school to school, avoiding the consequences for poor performance and hurting students.
These laws, rules and regulations that have a stranglehold on our schools are largely the unintended consequences of well-intentioned people. There is usually a seductive logic to any new regulation. There is almost always a case that can be made for each rule. But the cumulative effect of layer upon layer of these well-intended laws and regulations have added up to large expense with suffocating effects. The micromanagement of educators stifles their professional spirit and taints a school’s culture. Since teachers are not allowed to use their best judgment, many give up trying.
What can we do about this?
First, recognize the problem. Common Good Colorado is dedicated to informing the public on the issues that teachers and administrators face. Through the Over-Ruled Schools project, we hope to restore the authority of teachers and administrators to regain control of schools mired in bureaucracy and legal process.
Second, start to roll back the tide of regulations that strangle our schools.
The next steps include speaking with teachers, administrators, students and parents to understand their perspectives and to help them appreciate what is at stake under the current system. With the help of distinguished educators and advocates, we are also working to develop concrete recommendations for restoring order and authority.
Our intention is to inject common sense to the system so that individual rights are balanced with the common good. A school is a uniquely human enterprise that requires real people to make real-time decisions every day. We must allow these decisions to be based upon the training and common sense of professionals. A system grounded on trust and accountability will be much more effective than one propped up by layers of rules and regulations.
For more information on Common Good Colorado and the Over-Ruled Schools Project, please visit: www.cgood.org/ colorado. The group is an affiliate of Common Good, a new, bipartisan national organization dedicated to restoring common sense to American law, especially in the health-care system and public schools. For details, go to http://cgood.org.
Elaine Gantz Berman is a former DPS board member. Jerry Wartgow is the retired superintendent of DPS. Both are members of the board of Common Good Colorado.
