The Lee County School District proposes changes to address safety and discipline on school grounds

At a Tuesday briefing, the School District of Lee County proposed more than a dozen changes in order to deter inappropriate behavior.

Those include ways to handle corrective strategies, drug use and possession, simple battery, and student threats and intimidation.

School officials have acknowledged concern about these issues in the past, but gave positive feedback about harsher punishments for violating the code of conduct.

The laws are making it so that parents are held accountable
for what kids are doing. Let’s start in the classroom. Melisa Giovannelli, Lee County School Board – District 2

There’s also hope that the new code of conduct will get the attention of parents, and help bridge the gap between classroom and home life.

“I just am excited about this accountability piece. I think it’s going to be important for parents to be accountable and be a parent,” stated District 2 School Board member Melisa Giovannelli. “They’re going to have to step up when their children do something wrong.”

These proposed changes did not come lightly. Every principal in the District has been involved in monthly discussions to help curb negative trends.

The student services team and every board advisory team have also “had the opportunity to provide input.”

Parents weighed in as well. School Board members appreciated such a collaborative effort.

“I do want to compliment you all on the work that you’ve done, especially on all the outreach you’ve done,” added Cathleen Morgan, Lee County School Board member representing District 7. “The fact that you’ve talked to all of these groups, gathered their feedback, they will see in the code of conduct that it is responsive to concerns, responsive to suggestions made. I hope that will ameliorate some of the concerns.”

While the District seemed to have had a plan in the works, Tuesday’s meeting comes four weeks after they told WINK Investigator Peter Fleischer they were going to have a larger safety presentation.

On March 1, 2024, Fleischer reported on the results of a survey conducted by Lee Schools during the 2022-23 school year. Some students and teachers said they felt unsafe at school.

• RELATED: Do students, faculty feel safe at Lee County Schools? District survey finds mixed results

The survey asked three specific questions:

• To elementary school students: “Do adults make us feel safe?”
• To middle and high school students: “Do adults make decisions to keep us safe?”
• To faculty members: “Do we think of everyone’s safety when making decisions?”

12% of elementary students, 29% of middle school students and 35% of high school students answered “no.”

12% of district employees also said “no.”

The survey was unveiled barely one month after the Florida Department of Education published SESIR data for the 2022-23 school year.

SESIR– School Environmental Safety Incident Reporting – tracks the most disruptive incidents that take place in Florida schools. Lee County saw more than a 7% increase in incidents from the previous year.

• RELATED: Lehigh looking for help: Latest data shows issues inside, outside the classroom

Tuesday’s briefing was the first of three presentations the District has planned to address safety and discipline.

If you have a tip or story you’d like WINK Investigator Peter Fleischer to look into, email him at Peter.Fleischer@WINKNews.com.