Agreement with city, schools and court could keep students from felonies

Columbia students could have some protection from ending up with felony convictions for fights at school.

Districts across the state are grappling with a rewritten criminal law that makes third-degree assault a felony. The crime, once a misdemeanor, now occurs when someone “knowingly causes physical injury to another person.” The Hazelwood School District notified parents that if a School Resource Officer caught any fight, no matter the grade level, the students could be held for a felony.

The Columbia Public School District also expressed concern and frustration over the new laws. In a discussion about new bullying policies, leaders feared the new criminal laws could undo its work on lowering youth contact with the juvenile justice system. State law also requires school officials to report third-degree assault to law enforcement.

The Columbia City Council will consider a memorandum of understanding later this month that may give the district the option to avoid automatic referral to the Juvenile Office. The agreement “does not preclude anyone from contacting law enforcement,” but provides a structure for police, schools and courts to work together to find alternative methods of disciplining students.

“We’re trying to keep kids out of juvenile detention facilities and to get them to the services that they may need,” city councilwoman Laura Nauser told ABC 17 News Monday.

The memo gives school officials authority to tap resources like counseling and meetings with parents, and use the Juvenile Office as a “last resort,” according to Nauser. If the school believes the incident doesn’t require law enforcement involvement, and isn’t currently under supervision from the Juvenile Office, it can come up with those alternatives. That includes third-degree assault, along with several other crimes, like misdemeanor stealing and trespassing. A fourth violation would mean a referral to the Juvenile Office.

While state law requires law enforcement to get involved for reports of third-degree assault, districts and police can enter into a “written agreement” to create new methods of handling such reports.

Nauser said the rewritten version of third-degree assault was unnecessary, and lawmakers should have sought consultation from school districts before voting.

“There’s no age limit on who can be charged with a felony,” Nauser said. “Do we really want to have fifth graders charged with felonies?”

The agreement neither stops school employees from calling law enforcement to deal with situations nor nullifies any crimes on school property. CPS conduct rules still apply when a student gets in trouble. Nauser said the agreement helps interrupt the “school to prison pipeline.”

“Once a child becomes involved in a juvenile facility, they’ve got a greater likelihood of continuing down that path,” Nauser said.

CPS saw declining instances of discipline in 2015 overall, but violent instances jumped from six in 2014 to 19 the next year.