Jetton: Bill helps ensure a safe classroom environment

In his latest Capitol Report, Speaker of the House Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, explains the proposed Teacher Protection Act and what it can do to ensure safety in Missouri classrooms:

Ensuring Missouri kids get a great education to prepare them to be successful later in life is one of my main priorities. To help our kids succeed over the past four
years we have increased funding for education by half a billion dollars. That is an
enormous amount of money. The money hasn't been wasted because during that same
period we have seen the average test scores of our 4th graders increase and they are
actually beating the national average. We are also seeing a record number of high
schoolers take the ACT test and help them get into college.

While I think we have made great strides in the past few years to improve
education there is still more room for improvement. One thing we can do is empower our teachers to enforce classroom discipline without fear of being sued by passing HB 1722, the Teacher Protection Act.

The Teacher Protection Act makes it easier for teachers to enforce classroom
discipline by protecting them from frivolous lawsuits. A teacher should not be subject to being sued because they were enforcing school rules already on the books. I know it sounds ridiculous that we would have to write a law that allows teachers to enforce rules that already exist, but in todays "sue-happy" society it is necessary.

This bill will allow teachers to concentrate on their job, educating our children, and not having to worry about frivolous lawsuits. Creating a safe school environment that is conducive to learning should be the goal of all parents and teachers.

Time and time again we are reminded that good teachers have a disciplined classroom that allows kids to spend maximum time on learning and not on dealing with bad behaviors. Teacher protection allows teachers to punish disruptive kids that hurt the
ability of all students to learn.

It also has a provision that increases the reporting of acts of violence committing by a disruptive student to all teachers and faculty in a building.This is a great idea because other teachers need know if a particular student has a history of violence and will be better prepared to deal with them.

Our children deserve a great education. One way to ensure this is create a safe
learning environment. Their right to feeling safe at school is strengthened when teachers have the tools they need to enforce discipline.

Educating our youth is a noble profession. Teachers work long hours on not that
great of pay because they passionately believe in what they do. They are helping shape the future of our state by teaching tomorrow's doctors, engineers, firemen, farmers, etc. They deserve the tools necessary to create a safe learning environment.

I will work hard this session to make sure this bill passed out of the House and
becomes law. Our teachers need the protection this bill provides for them to ensure a
safe learning environment for all kids.