• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Schools Take on Loophole That Lets Felons Back in Classroom: Arlington ISD: Law is Designed for Juveniles, Not Those Tried As Adults

Posted on: Sunday, 29 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By Toya Lynn Stewart, The Dallas Morning News

Jan. 29--A flaw in state law that allowed an Arlington student involved in an armed robbery back into the classroom needs to be fixed, say educators, state officials and others.

They want to change the law to allow districts the authority to expel students who commit serious crimes that aren't school-related.

This month a woman alerted the school district by e-mail that Allen Roman, 18, was attending classes while awaiting sentencing for the armed robbery. He had pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder in November but was out on bail and attending Arlington's Sam Houston High School.

Once the district found out, officials suspended him, and he did his studies from home, his attorney, Kathy Lowthorp, has said. Last week Mr. Roman's bail was revoked. His sentencing is scheduled this week.

Ms. Lowthorp was chastised by the judge last week for discussing the case with the media and allowing Mr. Roman to do so. Neither she nor her client could comment, she said last week.

Superintendent Mac Bernd says the school district's job is to educate every student. But he draws the line when it comes to putting students who have committed serious and violent crimes into the classroom.

"We also have a responsibility for kids here who haven't committed these crimes," Dr. Bernd said. "I think you always have to look at a reasonable balance between educating every student and creating a safe environment for those who want to learn."

There was a time in Texas when school districts could expel students no matter what they did, said state Rep. Toby Goodman, an Arlington Republican.

That led to increased criminal activity. It also made it difficult for students to complete their educations.

Juvenile crimes

In 1997, Gov. George W. Bush said that practice needed to change and asked lawmakers to come up with a solution.

Mr. Goodman was chairman of the Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee that came up with a plan. The committee determined that the best way to deal with juvenile crime was to provide an education. One answer was the juvenile justice alternative education program. School district alternative campuses provided another answer.

It was a solid plan, Mr. Goodman said.

"When we drafted it, we tried to think of everything," he said.

But Mr. Roman's case is unusual because he went through the adult court system rather than the juvenile system, Mr. Goodman said. He was 17 when he committed the armed robbery in February.

"Had the kid been a juvenile, it wouldn't have happened this way," he said. "You just don't want someone who has attempted or pleaded to attempted capital murder in a regular classroom setting," Mr. Goodman said. "It's not good for the kid, classroom, students [or] district, and it becomes a public-relations problem."

Mr. Goodman said he is drafting legislation that he hopes will change the law.

Steven Poole, deputy executive director for the United Educators Association, said the group supports changing the law that would give school districts the option to expel students.

"If you ask a teacher, they're willing to give students a second, third and fourth chance, but when a kid is convicted of a felony for a violent crime, they not only have to look out for that student but the entire classroom," Mr. Poole said.

Lisa Capers, deputy executive director and general counsel for the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, agrees that Mr. Roman should be in the county's juvenile justice alternative education program.

"It's a little hole, but a significant one," Ms. Capers said of the flaw in the law. "It's not common or we would have heard about it. But even one situation is too many."

The juvenile justice system tends to move at a much quicker pace, and the courts tend to work more closely with school districts. With students in the adult court system, Ms. Capers said, the process is slower, and sometimes the communication might not be as timely or as effective.

Hard to track

Because of the differences in court systems and the laws protecting juveniles' and students' privacy, there's not an easy way to determine how many students convicted of violent crimes end up back in the public school system, Ms. Capers said.

"If a kid committed a violent offense, served time, did well, they could go to a regular school system," she said. "From a public policy perspective, it's hard to keep punishing the kid. How long do you punish if they've paid their debt to society?"

Richard Kinnunen, president of the Frisco ISD Council of PTAs, shares a similar perspective.

"I think kids deserve second chances after they've made their restitution," he said. "If you have a record, it shouldn't keep you out of school."

He said his primary concern would be for classmates who knew a student had committed a crime but was back in school with no punishment. It could give them the wrong impression or make them think the consequences aren't that bad, he said.

'A judgment call'

Loester Posey, director of student discipline and placement for the Fort Worth school district, also believes students should be given second chances but on a case-by-case basis.

"You have to look at each situation individually," said Ms. Posey, adding that she believes the law will be changed. "It's a hard decision to make because it becomes a judgment call."

Dallas school district trustee Ron Price said the law should change. Any second chances should be in an alternative school, he said.

"He should have been removed from the campus immediately," Mr. Price said of Mr. Roman. "No ifs, ands or buts. Any child who has pleaded guilty should be sent to an alternative school until the trial.

"You're innocent until proven guilty, but in this case he pleaded guilty."

Plano Senior High student Teresa Rodriquez agrees.

"I don't want to go to school with someone who has that attempted capital murder charge," the 16-year-old said. "I think the law should change."

Dr. Bernd said the current law is prohibitive. The district will lobby to have the law changed to give districts the right to remove students.

E-mail tstewart@dallasnews.com

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Dallas Morning News

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Johannesburg:MPC,

Source: The Dallas Morning News

More News in this Category