Board wants to see more from parents

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Many are wondering how Norfolk’s public schools should handle disciplinary problems and it was one of the big topics at Tuesday’s School Board meeting.

Norfolk school officials said incidents where students have been abusive toward teachers are on the rise, both verbal and physical. Officials are finding that in many cases they are not getting help from the parent when it comes to disciplining students.

The School Board had a lively discussion on the topic. Board members want to see some parents more active in their child’s education and say teachers need help from parents to keep students in line.

Most of the discussion at Tuesday’s meeting revolved around the school system’s policy regarding parental responsibility. The policy says if they find a parent isn’t making an effort, the school system can actually take that parent to court.

Board members say it’s a policy that hasn’t been enforced in the past couple of years but if the problems get worse, they might have no choice but put the parents in front of a judge.

The majority of the School Board is in favor of enforcing the policy, so that might begin soon. The board first wants to look at what other school systems are doing and also want to bring in a juvenile judge to see what impacts that could have.

The idea is to keep teachers safe.