Leah McGhee said when her son was suspended from Central Davidson High School, she could not appeal the punishment because it was less than 10 days.

According to McGhee, her 16-year-old son was only seeking clarification when his teacher used the word aliens in class, and he asked whether that reference was to “space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards.”

The student received a three day out-of-school suspension for what was deemed a racially motivated comment which disrupted the class.

“The Board’s policies do not prevent students from using the words alien, illegal alien, or green card, nor does it state that these words are racially insensitive or abusive,” McGhee told members of the state Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.

Republican Davidson County Senator Steve Jarvis said the incident resulted in much confusion and frustration because there was little information provided regarding the school policy and how particularly the student violated those guidelines.

Currently, North Carolina students have the statutory right to appeal any long-term suspension, which is 10 days or longer. However, the same rights and protections are not awarded or given to students who receive short-term suspensions.

“This bill aims to rectify this disparity by granting students who receive short-term suspensions lasting five days or more, the same rights to those who are suspended 10 days or more,” said Sen. Jarvis in explaining his proposed committee substitute for House Bill 207.

The measure would also ensure that high school students who receive a short-term suspension of five days have the opportunity to appeal the principal’s decision to the district’s superintendent.

The bill also mandates that the school accept eyewitness reports from the student or members of school staff regarding incidents that led to the short-term or long-term suspension.

“It is crucial for our students to know why they are disciplined and to understand the section of the school’s code of conduct as well as how specifically it was violated,” Sen. Jarvis said. “Without this knowledge, they cannot make a fully comprehend their actions or how to address them. Therefore, the bill seeks and requires that students receive this detailed information.”

Democratic Wake County Senator Jay Chaudhuri agreed that this was a due process issue for students and their parents.

“We know that short-term suspensions increase the probability of getting long-term suspensions that may ultimately result in that student dropping out of school and potentially entering into the correctional system,” said Chaudhuri.

Senator Gladys Robinson, who has often raised concerns about the disproportionate number of Black students who are suspended and expelled from schools, praised the measure.

“This is a step in the right direction to address the huge number of suspensions that affect our children, especially as you look at the disparity amongst races and how that is disparagingly affecting their long-term ability to continue to higher education and trade schools or wherever they are able to go,” said Robinson.

The Guilford County Democrat also said she liked expungement provisions in the bill that would allow high school students to clear their record if certain specific criteria have been met.

During the 2022-23 school year, North Carolina recorded 247,454 suspensions in grades K-12.

Out of the 84,539 high school short-term suspensions, nearly 67,000 lasted longer than 6-10 days, according to Sen. Jarvis. More than 17,000 cases lasted five days.

NC Newsline has previously reported that Black students are suspended from North Carolina’s public schools at four times the rate of white students.

McGhee said that in her son’s case, she only received a one-sentence explanation that his remarks were racially insensitive. Efforts to speak with the school principal went unanswered.

“This bill simply by saying you have to write in details and give eyewitness accounts is going to help more than you even know,” McGhee testified.

While the legislation appears to have support on both sides of the aisle, the McGhees filed suit last month against the Davidson County Board of Education.  They claim their 16-year-old suffered ‘reputational harm’ and school denied him his right to free speech. The family is seeking to have his record cleared and unspecified monetary damages.

House Bill 207 is likely to receive a vote in next week’s Senate Education Committee.