Discipline: referrals get thrown away, you have to have 5 before anyone even looks at them, and even then nothing is done! The principals just throws them away. Principals have told multiple teachers that they just throw them away. Teachers are being hit, bit, cursed, and flipped off, pushed, and even slamming their arms against walls. Kids fight and steal and nothing is done, Principals never check on the teachers to make sure they are safe even though they know there is a problem. Many teachers have tried getting help at the esc because nothing was done at the schools, and no one will talk with them. I have been informed that if a teacher files a grievance against a principal in a school it puts a target on their backs. Many teachers are being docked in pay because no one is taking care of the discipline problems in our schools. Teachers are constantly criticized, used as a scapegoat, and threatened by both principals and ESC members. Parents have come to teachers and told them that the principals contacted them and tried to blame everything on the teachers. Parents have witnessed principals attacking teachers verbally. Principals and especially ESC members will not send emails or responses back to teachers. If they get back with them, it is by phone. This way there is no paper trail and they cannot be held to their words. Principals cater to parents who throw a fit because their child has been written up and do not follow the policies we have in place. They have also removed the privileges teachers have given to students who finish their work and behave. Principals has been told to just "make the parents happy".  Most of our schools 5th grade students get to go to the computer lab 3 days of the week because their behavior is so bad and the teacher can't teach. This takes away multiple grade levels and teachers times who now do not get to use any programs for tutoring.  Other teachers need police in their rooms almost every day because of the horrendous behavior of the students. Literally students can do anything and while teachers walk the students up and down the halls they have to fan them so they can cool off after throwing a fit.  SPECIAL ED: Schools have been told even if they have qualifying sped kids they cannot put them in life skills because they are maxed out. Principals are told no one else can go and they need to figure it out or they will find someone else who can.  The esc refuses to hire other teachers and instead just put these kids as resource. Some resource teachers serving kids should not be and serving far too many to actually be able to help them. Principals are also telling the custodians to start locking the gates teachers come through before teachers even have to be clocked into work so that they will have to pass by the principal’s office. Teacher’s conference times are being taken away by meetings which is illegal because teachers get the state minimum. Teachers are having to test so much that it is taking away an insurmountable amount of important teaching time.  The classrooms are under fire code but no one cares. 300 sq ft below fire code! The esc hire all these contracted specialists whose jobs literally depend on finding things to change and force the teachers to do an insurmountable amount of work that is unnecessary. Quite honestly the test scores were much better before having to do all this stuff. We the LISD community need to clean house at the esc because no school or district needs that many people that literally sit around and find things to make teachers do just to justify their job. Some of these titles I have never heard of and I don't understand having a secretary for a secretary. They need to take all that money we could be saving by cleaning house and using it to buy guided reading books which we don't hardly have any more and bringing back reading recovery, and math recovery. If they truly cared about our kids they would put the money in people that work with kids and programs that proved themselves valuable. Teachers are also being forced to work through their lunch and put lesson plans in 3 places (and are told that these are not for teachers. "If you have a worksheet or anything like that you don't put it in your plans. You put that in your own personal notes”.  Teachers literally have no clue as to who a lesson plan is for anymore.   Principals verbally attack, belittle, and even spy and eavesdrop on the teachers. There are esc members who have openly discussed their views and opinions about white people being tolerated and their preference on hiring African Americans. The esc will also hire due to race and not qualifications. The esc are hiring people who have never taught ELA, and when they have meetings to discuss reading strategies, they openly talked about how that was not their subject, they have no clue about any of that, and the esc makes them an ELA Instructional Specialist. Parents are fleeing. Other schools in our district lose kids to Pep left and right. One teacher I spoke with lost 6 kids to Pep and 10 left the district last year alone.  We need to do a serious investigation on schools that continually do as well or better than Pep on their state tests. If you get with a teacher who has been in our district for years they will tell you it is unreal the details they know about these situations. The teachers in LISD need help. Everyone is trying to leave. Multiple teachers are getting trained and saving money to open day care centers. Some are going back to school for a completely different career. Some are looking at retirement even though they never would have considered it until now. And many are flocking to other districts. So in conclusion you can see by the facts I have taken from many teachers on LISD campuses. We do have many issues that are not being told to the community. The administration and superintendent want to pull the wool over our eyes and paint a picture of a wonderful school district, but here is the truth from the soldiers on the battlefield. Our teachers need to feel safe, the discipline policies need to be followed, and our special education department needs to be improved so that every child not matter if they have special needs gets a great education they deserve. We need to cut the fat at the esc building get rid of all the unnecessary jobs, hire qualified teachers, and get a full time superintendent from outside our district who will rebuild our district and protect our teachers so that LISD will be the best district, and have the best teachers. Take the money spent on these unnecessary job positions at the esc office, and put it into our children’s education. Thank You, Jason Bates