Locally, several districts have seen an increase in the number of reported disciplinary actions against students for fighting. Dayton, Centerville, Kettering, Northmont, Troy and Middletown are among the districts that reported an increase in out-of-school suspensions for fighting between 2018 and 2024.
Springfield has seen a slight decline in suspensions due to fighting in the same time frame, according to ODEW data.
Teachers say that these fights are dangerous situations to be in and in some cases can lead to teachers getting fired for intervening. Teachers’ unions are seeking more guidance on what teachers should be doing when kids fight.
“You have teachers that get in trouble for not intervening in one case and then for intervening, but doing it improperly, in another situation,” said Ohio Education Association president Scott DiMauro.
Dayton Public recently passed a new policy around what teachers should do during in-school fights after two teachers were terminated recently for allegedly being involved in fights in schools.
“We created a whole new policy around teacher interactions with kids as a result of some of the cases that have happened this year,” said DPS superintendent David Lawrence.
Dayton’s problem
In Dayton schools, there’s been more reported discipline around fights in recent years. However, the state discipline data is self-reported and schools can be over or under-representing how much fighting is happening in their schools.
For example, the data for Akron Public Schools and Toledo Public Schools, the districts that are the most similar to Dayton, isn’t clear. Different districts have different tolerances for what will get a student kicked out of school.
In the 2018-2019 school year, Dayton Public reported 1,061 out-of-school suspensions for students involved in fighting. Akron reported 2,518 suspensions for fighting that same period, and Toledo reported 521 suspensions for fighting. DPS and Akron didn’t report any expulsions for fighting, but Toledo reported 34 expulsions.
During last school year, Dayton Public reported 868 out-of-school suspensions for fighting but also reported 15 expulsions. Akron reported 2,573 out-of-school suspensions and no expulsions. Toledo reported 166 out-of-school suspensions and 77 expulsions.
Schools are not the only places reporting more fights involving teenagers. The Southeast Branch of the Dayton Metro Library, located next to Belmont High School, recently began to close between 2 and 4 p.m. daily after a brawl between teenagers broke out in the lobby.
And last week, the main branch of the Dayton Metro Library shut down for two days after two fights were reported on Dec. 18. Dayton Public Schools said in a statement none of its students were involved in the first fight reported to police. During another fight that broke out at around 4 p.m., adults not associated with the school district reportedly “antagonized” and fought DPS students.
Change in policy
In November, the Dayton Public Schools Board of Education created a district policy on how teachers should be dealing with teachers and students physically in a fight, after three teachers were up for termination for allegedly using excessive force on students.
“This policy strictly prohibits staff from knowingly contributing to or failing to intervene as well as using any form of physical force, beyond reasonable force, and expressly prohibits hitting, striking, or other harmful actions, to maintain a safe and supportive educational environment,” begins the new policy that DPS recently passed.
Dayton Education Association president Neil Mahoney said the teachers’ union has been repeatedly asking for more clarity around what teachers are supposed to do when fights break out in the district’s schools. Most of the issues seem to be happening in middle and high schools.
Mahoney said in theory, the new policy looks great. But he said the DEA was not included in discussions with the board policy committee who created the new policy, and he said teachers would like to see more training.
“We want to make sure the students are being protected,” Mahoney said. “We never want to see a student being physically beaten. However, my teacher’s safety right now is of the utmost importance.”
He said there are still questions about if calling the office or a school resource officer is enough, or if teachers are required to physically get involved.
“If we do, what are the guidelines for that?” he said.
Lawrence said the administration is working on a module for the district’s teachers to work on de-escalation techniques. He said there would be zero tolerance for teachers who hurt kids.
“There’s a policy in place that you can’t brutalize kids, but we’ve added a new policy, and then on top of that we’re going to give everyone training so that when it happens again, people can’t say they weren’t trained,” Lawrence said.
Solving the problem
Mahoney suggested getting more administrators into the hallways and more school resource officers could help deter fights from happening.
He said traditionally, second semester ends up with more fights than the first semester.
Kathy McFarland, executive director of the Ohio School Board Association, said the organization, which provides sample policies to local school boards across Ohio and provides advice, does not provide a sample policy on fighting, though she said it was smart for districts to have one.
She said that based on her experience as a former school principal, some of the best ways to prevent fighting in the hallway were visible administrators and teachers; creating strong relationships between teachers and students; and having clear ways to communicate between teachers and principals.
“It can be very stressful,” she said.
Lawrence said the district has doubled the number of security officers in the buildings since 2016. He also said that during his time as a principal in a Dayton Public high school, there were long stretches with no fights.
“Students shouldn’t be fighting,” he said. “We value safety. I want teachers to be in a safe working environment that’s focused on school and not intervening in physical altercations.”
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