CHARLESTON, W.Va. – WVEA President Dale Lee spoke at the West Virginia State Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, about the legislative session, student discipline, and mental health. “Aggravating, tiring, disappointing, and miserable,” were the words WVEA President Dale Lee used to describe the 2024 legislative session. He thanked the members of the State Board and Superintendent Blatt for discussing the need to address students’ mental health and discipline.

“When I say discipline, I’m not talking about the violent child that needs to be removed, I’m talking about the disruptive child, the child who the night before saw their guardian overdose, is facing troubles that we can’t imagine. I’m talking about the kid who sleeps in a car and goes from place to place never knowing where they’re going to have a meal or a bed. And we wonder why that child is a disruption in class—it doesn’t take an expert to figure that out,” stated WVEA President Dale Lee.

He also told the State Board that we need to come up with a plan to get guardians and parents of these children involved in the school and their education.

Source: The Herald-Dispatch