Teachers in the fourth-largest school district in Washington are saying that their respective schools’ inability to deal with disciplinary issues has made them feel unsafe.

The Kent Education Association is speaking out on the behalf of the district’s educators, saying that the district needs to hire more trained staff including behavioral interventionists in order to address the fact that a growing number of teachers are experiencing “concussions and contusions.”

The KEA is in the middle of negotiations with the district to ensure that teachers feel safer.

"The two sides are in the middle of contract talks and the district says they are brainstorming ideas. But the teacher’s union says they have seen no progress so they will push the issue harder starting at Wednesday’s school board meeting,” said Q13 Fox.

Teacher safety has been a big topic in districts throughout the country as of late.

As many schools switch to restorative justice practices and disciplinary practices like suspensions and expulsions become a thing of the past, teachers say districts have not stepped up to find alternative methods of discipline.

A lack of trained staff in addition to a lack of alternative measures, many teachers say, results in aggressive students being put right back in the classroom without any resolution.

Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

5/12/2016