JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
A Marion County resident came forward to the Board of Education to propose a new policy regarding anti-discrimination for students within the local system.
During the meeting, Shane Williams presented the new policy for the board to look over regarding placing restrictions towards racial discrimination within each school. He noted that the county, alongside others across Tennessee, has a history of students reporting racial harassment directed towards them, leaving Williams to present the policy for the board to take action against discrimination.
“We believe in good faith that the Marion County school system does want to provide a free and fair education for all students regardless of sex, race, and nationality,” said Williams.
Williams’s proposed policy aims to enact three categories of offenses for students who commit acts of discrimination, each containing separate punishments. A student who commits an act of racial harassment towards another student would receive a five day suspension from school under the first offense committed. For the second offense, a 10 day suspension period would be placed towards the student committing the offense, while a third offense would lead the student to be referred towards a disciplinary hearing.
“All investigations of racial harassment should be within 48 hours of initial reporting,” said Williams. “We are asking that the leaders of the school can come to honor our desire to ensure a Marion County school message to both students and the community that discrimination is a unique offense in the eyes of the law.”
Mark Griffith, Director of Schools for Marion County, noted the board’s Student Discrimination and Harassment policy already being in effect for all schools to abide by. However, he expressed interest of enhancing the policy with Williams’s ideas in mind. Chairman Ryan Philips mentioned that the policy was last amended in 2014, leaving it as a major candidate for future enhancement. The school board’s Zero Tolerance policy was also mentioned as a major candidate for amendment, ultimately leaving the board to further look into the system’s code of conduct for updating with Williams’s suggestions in mind.