Updated, Tuesday, 2:30 p.m.:

At a joint hearing Tuesday of the Senate Committees on Criminal Justice and Education, lawmakers discussed ways to save money and improve the quality of school discipline practices, including giving more discretion to teachers, law enforcement and judges when it comes to dealing with disciplinary violations.

The meeting came a day after a report by the nonprofit Texas Appleseed suggested that the current focus on “exclusionary discipline,” including suspension, expulsion and sending youths to juvenile justice programs, is expensive and ineffective.

David Slayton, executive director of the Texas Judicial Council, suggested that lawmakers consider ...

Full Story