Teachers Fear For Safety As Charles County Demands Action From School Board

LA PLATA, Md. — The Education Association of Charles County (EACC) is calling for urgent reforms to address teacher safety and student discipline. At the Feb. 11 virtual Board of Education meeting, EACC President Sean Heyl highlighted an alarming increase in violent incidents against school staff.

Heyl shared accounts of educators being physically attacked by students, including a high school teacher who fractured her knee while trying to break up a fight and a pregnant elementary school teacher who was chased around her classroom by a student with a pencil.

“Our current system is broken, and we are the ones who must fix it because educators can’t educate from the emergency room,” Heyl said.

Call for Legislative Action
EACC is advocating for the passage of the Davis Martinez Public Safety and Health Act, which would mandate protections for public workers against workplace violence. The association is also pushing for state legislation to restrict cellphone use in schools, citing social media-fueled fights and harassment as a growing issue.

Outlined in House Bill 176 and Senate Bill 26, the proposed legislation would require the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to appoint an assistant commissioner for public employees’ safety and health and establish a Public Employees’ Safety and Health Unit within the Division of Labor and Industry. This unit would enforce workplace safety standards for public sector employees, including educators.

EACC plans to lobby in Annapolis for the passage of the bill on Feb. 24.

Discipline Policy Inconsistencies
Heyl pointed to widespread inconsistencies in how discipline policies are enforced across Charles County schools. He proposed that staff receive uniform training on writing referrals, while administrators undergo scenario-based exercises to ensure consistent enforcement of the county’s discipline matrix.

“When an educator asks a student to comply with the code of conduct, it should be an expectation that the student follows through,” Heyl said. “We cannot have rules that are ignored or applied differently from school to school.”

Legal Accountability for Parents
Heyl suggested a legal accountability framework for parents regarding their children’s extreme behaviors, referencing national cases where parents faced legal consequences for their child’s actions.

“A guiding principle could be what I call the ‘Wawa test’: Would the staff member be able to press charges if the incident occurred at a Wawa store? If yes, then they should feel empowered to do the same in school,” Heyl said.

He further suggested that if parents fail to attend behavioral meetings or re-admit conferences, the school system should consider pursuing other options.

“If parents aren’t attending behavioral meetings or re-admit conferences, the school system should consider pursuing other options,” Heyl said.

Next Steps
EACC plans to advocate in Annapolis for legislative action and continue working with local officials to develop a safer learning environment for both staff and students.

“We want to keep educators in the classroom and out of the hospital,” Heyl concluded.

See the full statement from EACC on CCPS Board Docs here.

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