by James C. Sherlock
American school children have in my lifetime been the subject of widespread experiments in theory disguised as breakthroughs in education.
Consider the “new math” and the “reading wars” as prominent examples.
Now we have social theory on school discipline created by federal civil rights lawyers piggybacking on what may or may not prove to be successful academic practices for children with disabilities. That social theory has been promulgated as state policy guidance in Virginia.
A Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) has been used successfully in some instances to help teach academics to the learning-disabled.
This system was extended by lawyers from the aspirational left to school discipline and social-emotional learning without evidence. Now it has been published by the Virginia Board of Education for use by every school division in Virginia as a potential cure for “systemic racism” in discipline.
The 2021 Model Guidance for Positive, Preventative Code of Student Conduct Policy and Alternatives to Suspension (Virginia Model Guidance) may be fraudulently referenced. It is certainly incompletely referenced. Continue reading