In recent years, we’ve seen a rise in school bullying—both online and in person—along with blatant disrespect and physical violence in educational spaces. These incidents occur not only between students but also between students and faculty. This troubling trend has left many inside and outside of education wondering how to address the issue, especially as it seems to be escalating.
Parental AccountabilityMultiple states—such as Illinois, Tennessee, Maryland, and Ohio—have instituted legislation that, to varying degrees, holds parents accountable for the behavior (or crimes) of their minor children. Most recently in Georgia, with support from lawmakers, the Georgia Federation of Teachers proposed the Parental Accountability Act. The legislation seeks to address school violence prevention, increase parent accountability, and introduce other preventative measures. It also recommends penalties for parents, including fines, community service, and, in some cases, jail time—particularly when students physically assault faculty or staff.
But how do you teach accountability by punishing someone else?
Political strategist and lobbyist Kenyette Tisha Barnes, who has worked in Georgia, spoke with Chicago News Weekly about the proposed legislation. She shared that this isn’t the first time a bill like this has been introduced—similar legislation has failed multiple times in the past—but now there's an even stronger push behind it.
The IssueThe overarching problem, Barnes says, is that “educators no longer feel safe—personally or professionally. They are no longer effective at de-escalating situations with students. Disruptive students make classroom management extremely difficult. And there’s a perception that parents are using classrooms as daycare centers and simply don’t care. Violence is particularly concerning with physically larger high school students. School violence is not just student-to-teacher, but also student-to-student. Teachers face multiple forms of abuse, including physical assault, cyberattacks, doxing, and sexual harassment.”
Blame GameBarnes describes the current legislation as more of a “trauma response” than a substantive solution. While parental accountability is necessary to address school violence—and while people do want legislative reform that supports student discipline—she emphasizes that no one seems to be addressing the root causes of the behavioral and psychological challenges playing out in classrooms.
According to Barnes, what we’re witnessing is educational trauma.
She explains that many schools across the country have become institutionalized, with substandard facilities and little focus on actual learning. “Some schools,” she says, “have become recruiting grounds for drug and gang activity, as well as sex trafficking. This is only compounded by the fact that child-on-parent abuse is virtually unacknowledged, let alone addressed.”
The need for change is urgent—but how effective is it to legally punish parents as a solution? Have states that have implemented similar laws actually seen improvements? What about accountability for the minors themselves? And who is held responsible when a child is a ward of the state, transient, or lives in split households? Who decides which parent is “punished”? Do we flip a coin? Or do we, by default, lock up countless parents—many of them single mothers—who may already be caring for other children?
Finally, how are schools addressing children who are simply mirroring behavior they see celebrated, rewarded, or emboldened—whether it’s racism, homophobia, or sexism—in their immediate environments? It may sound extreme, but we cannot ignore the ways in which broader society plays a role in shaping student behavior.
A Cry for HelpBarnes sees the Parent Accountability Act—and similar efforts in other states—as a cry for help. She stresses the need for a multi-tiered approach that includes increased parental involvement, but also experts in forensic psychiatry, psychology, pediatrics, and sociology. Only through a holistic approach, she argues, can we address students’ underlying needs before violence occurs.
This vision aligns with the preventative components of the Georgia bill, which include mental health screenings, staff training, and parenting classes. But Barnes cautions that, as with many policy ideas, the solution may be stronger in theory than in practice.
One major challenge is that many schools are already underfunded and struggling to manage a dichotomy where, as Barnes puts it, “both vulnerable children and those with predatory behaviors exist in the same environment.”
Hopefully, in the future, these issues will be addressed with care and fidelity by parents, educators, and legislators alike—so that we don’t simply create a new parental pipeline to prison.