California law will make student suspensions for "willful defiance" illegal

By July of next year, it will be illegal for public schools in California to suspend students for low-level behavior issues after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation banning "willful defiance" suspensions among TK through 12th grade students throughout the state.

Newsom on Sunday approved Senate Bill 274, which takes effect July 1, 2024. Under SB 274, introduced by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, willful defiance suspensions are barred in grades 6-12, with a sunset of July 1, 2029, in all California public schools.

According to Skinner's office, SB 274 builds on Skinner's 2019 legislation, Senate Bill 419, which was signed into law by Newsom and permanently banned willful defiance suspensions in grades TK to 5 and prohibited them in grades 6 to 8 until 2025. 

"Since my start in the state Senate in 2016, I've worked to end willful defiance suspensions in our public schools. The reason is simple: Suspending students, no matter the age, doesn't improve student behavior, and it greatly increases the likelihood that the student will fail or drop out," Skinner said in a statement Monday.

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