In the fall of 2000, Jacob Guigear brought a 3-inch blade to Carman Ainsworth
High School in Flint. For this infraction, he joined more than 1,200 students
estimated by the Michigan Department of Education to have been expelled from
state schools each year since lawmakers began mandating expulsions for violence
in 1995.
Guigear, who had a long history of skipping school, told The Detroit News he's
shaped up since his forced stay at Frontier Learning Center, a "strict
discipline academy" (SDA) in Fenton.
"You could look at this as a sentence," Guigear, who now wears a uniform and is
subjected to daily searches, told The News. "But I don't think I'll be skipping
as much anymore after I get out of here. It's not worth the effort."
The strict discipline academy is a relatively new tool available to Michigan
educators for dealing with students whose conduct threatens the safety of staff
and other students in their schools. Established through legislation in 1999 as
part of an ongoing effort to enhance and maintain safety in schools, strict
discipline academies are public school academies chartered for the purpose of
reforming "at-risk" students without endangering others. The academies provide
traditional education courses in a controlled environment-requiring metal
detector checks at the door, uniforms, and strict adherence to behavior
policies.
As Michigan educators become more familiar with SDAs, it is likely the future
will see one or more established in most of Michigan's intermediate school
districts.
Though the law establishing SDAs is exclusive of Michigan's charter school law,
SDAs are similar to charters in that they can be authorized by a local school
board, an intermediate school board, the board of a community college, or the
governing board of a state university. They are organized as a nonprofit
corporation with a board of directors. Since they are public schools, they can
have no religious affiliation.
The law requires that SDA charters be awarded on a "competitive basis" within
the boundaries of their authorizing authority, taking into account the resources
available, population served, and educational goals of competing proposed SDAs.
They are subject to annual reviews by the state, which assesses the academy's
mission statement, attendance statistics, dropout rate, test scores and
financial stability.
The law also allows citizens wishing to create an SDA to organize a petition
drive if the school board or other authorizing body rejects a proposal that
qualifies in every other respect. In order to place a proposal to accept the SDA
on a public ballot, citizens must obtain the signatures of at least 15 percent
of those citizens living within a school district's boundaries who voted in the
previous school election. If the ballot proposal then receives a majority of the
votes in the election the SDA is authorized.
Within 10 days of issuing an SDA contract, the authorizing board must submit a
copy and application to the state Board of Education and must adopt a resolution
naming the members the SDAs board of directors. The contract must include a
number of important items, including a statement of the educational goals of the
SDA, how the board plans to hold the SDA accountable, and procedures and grounds
for revoking the contract. As with any public school, SDA teachers must be state
certified, except as otherwise provided by law.
As nonprofits, SDAs are exempt from taxation on their earnings and property, but
may not levy property taxes. They may not charge tuition and must admit students
according to a non-discrimination policy. Like any public school, SDAs receive
per-pupil funding from the state for the number of students enrolled at the
beginning of the school year. They do not serve juvenile criminals, but the
state Family Independence Agency or another state agency can enroll a suitable
pupil from a juvenile detention facility in an SDA, provided the agency bears
financial responsibility for the student.
Some district administrators have been cool to the concept of opening a strict
discipline academy for local students. In Garden City, for example,
administrators last year studied and rejected a strict discipline academy.
However, without the programs, expelled students are left with few choices. They
can seek to continue their education through private tutoring or alternative
education programs, if offered by their district.
"With zero-tolerance in Michigan, there is nothing for these expelled kids," Dan
Sherman, vice-president of Educational Services, the private company that
manages Frontier Learning Center, told The Detroit News. "Strict discipline
academies want to get kids off the street and give them some benefits so they
can get back into school."
Strict discipline academies provide a way for Michigan educators to deal
constructively with the growing number of expelled students who might otherwise
be left without any opportunity for academic achievement. Incorporating them
into school districts' overall safety plans would provide a positive "last
chance" for students who may present a danger to others.
While some opposition in local school districts will likely continue, the
establishment of well run strict discipline academies will facilitate education
for all of our students, make schools safer, and provide educational
opportunities for some students who might otherwise have slipped through the
cracks.
Guy P. Dobbs, J.D., is an attorney and principal in the firm of Dobbs & Neidle,
P.C. in Bingham Farms, Michigan, where his practice assists Michigan public
schools including public school academies.