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VI UPDATE U.S. Virgin Islands Public Records TRANSCRIPT OF PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 Legislature USVI October 22, 2021 · 3.6 hours · gov Source recording https://youtu.be/nVMqcjzW-o8 Status This is a working transcript produced by machine from a recording of a public proceeding. It is a finding aid, not an official record of the Legislature. Transcribed by VI Update, using OpenAI Whisper large-v3-turbo, run locally. Not reviewed by a person. Reliability Automatic transcription, UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording before relying on it. Speech recognition splits spoken digits and wraps figures mid-number, so a dollar amount, a vote count or a bill number can be wrong in a way that reads as correct. Speakers are not identified: automatic speaker labelling was measured unusable and removed. Public record The underlying proceeding is a public record of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. 3 V.I.C. § 881(a) defines public records to include all records and documents of or belonging to this Territory or any branch of government, or any "department, board, council or committee of any branch of government" · which names legislative committees by category. § 881(b) gives every citizen the right to examine and copy such records, and the news media the right to publish them. (The open-meetings chapter, 1 V.I.C. § 254, does NOT reach the Legislature: § 253(b) expressly excludes it and its Standing and Special Committees. § 881 does, and it is § 881 that confers the right to copy and publish.) The Legislature broadcast this proceeding publicly itself. The source recording is not ours, is not hosted here, and remains with its publisher at the link above. Rights To what we added · the transcription, its arrangement and its description · we assert nothing. A verbatim transcript is mechanical rather than authored, so there is likely nothing in it to own; to the extent any copyright is nonetheless found to subsist, it is dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0. Please copy it, quote it, index it, train on it, republish it, mirror it, sell it. Redistribution is the point: a public record with one copy is one fire from gone. No permission is needed, and none is ours to grant or withhold. This video is brought to you by our website. Give me your hand. We'll be right back. We'll see you next time. 0:00:00 Let's go. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll see you next time. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Let's go. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. Good morning, good morning to everyone, and good afternoon, I stand corrected. 0:02:00 Good afternoon to everyone, and welcome to the Committee on Education and Workforce Development. As your Chairwoman, Senator Genevieve Whitaker, I want to first off say good afternoon to all of my colleagues in the well, also those who will be joined via Teams. A pleasant good afternoon to the central staff, to everyone who made today possible. Thank you. say thank you to our testifiers and and also to the general public and I just wanted a few things before we begin I want to first begin today by offering a moment of silence we all of us departed just shortly short while ago from the funeral of the late senator Holland Redfield the second and correction dr. Holland Redfield as he was bestowed by the University of the Virgin Islands the honorary degree and so this time I would like for us to take a moment of silence. Thank you and yesterday of course we moved legislation to honor him the chief sponsor Senator Samuel Carrion to honor our late senator and of course I was honored to join him as a prime sponsor along with Senator Alma Francis Heiliger and Senator Payne and all the colleagues who made it possible to move the measure forward in yesterday's rules committee hearing at this time I also want to begin by briefly offering some opening statement opening statements particularly about 0:27:05 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 1 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 significance even of October a number of recognitions different weeks was the October being a month of a number of key recognitions of course we have domestic violence awareness a month number of our nonprofits really paying tribute to all those who felt fallen victims we continue to honor the victims and continue to do what we have to do in order to stem the tide of domestic violence. Breast Cancer Awareness Month, of course, we have a number of survivors, so of course we have those who really departed, we can pray for those families and continue to champion the causes that will end cancer. This is also Disability Employment Awareness Month that I want to highlight that's really important, that we do our best for persons with disabilities. This also ties to our education system, ensuring that we do our very best to ensure that persons who learn differently, that we ensure that we do the best we can to support. And we talk about employment, and that was as it's connected to education. We know that the more that we support persons with disabilities from the onset, we will be able to have more and more persons with disabilities who will be able to be employed upon their graduation and there are other number of things I've series of weeks and different activities this month and weeks and we can we have to continue to do our best through this pandemic I want to now proceed we're recognizing our clerk and she will proceed with the roll call madam clerk please read the roll call. Senator Kenneth L Giddens. Senator Kenneth L Giddens absent. Senator Donna Fred Gregory. Senator Donna Fred Gregory absent. Senator Carla A Joseph. Senator Carla A Joseph absent. Senator Milton E Potter. Senator Milton E Potter present. Senator Janelle K. Saro. Senator Janelle K. Saro, present. Senator Kurt Aviale. Senator Kurt Aviale, present. Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker. Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker, present. Madam Chair, we have four present. Sheree absent. Thank you. Quorum haven't been established. I'd like you to proceed with the reading of the agenda. Oh, my apologies. And I want to also recognize non-committee member Senator Javon James welcome thank you and and also yes we did receive a correspondence so madam Clark can you read the correspondence and correspondence into the record thank you letter dated October 22nd 2021 is the honorable Genevieve Whitaker chairwoman committee on education and workforce development three zero two two Golden Rock St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands, 00820. Dear Senator Whitaker, please excuse my absence at the Committee on Education and Workforce Development hearing scheduled for October 22, 2021, as I will be participating in the services for our late colleague, Senator Holland Redfield II. I ask that any additional information shared during today's hearing be forwarded to my office. 0:30:37 Sincerely, Kenneth L. Gittins, Senator, Virgin Islands Legislature. Thank you, Madam Clark. Okay, please mark Senator Gittins as excused. And is that it for the correspondents? Yes, ma'am. Okay, thank you. Okay, proceed with the agenda. Thank you. The Committee on Education and Workforce Development hearing for october 22nd 2021 the committee on education and workforce development has scheduled a hearing in the fritz legislative conference room on st croix block one the committee will receive testimony on the following bill bill number 340097 an act repealing and reenacting title 17 virgin allen's code chapter 11 section 130 relating to authority to discipline pupils in school and repealing title 17 virgin allen's code chapter 9 sub chapter 1 section 87 relating to punishment of pupils by school officials sponsored by senator janelle k sorrow invited testifiers raquel berry benjamin commissioner virgin island department of education keisha dejean charles psychologist buoyant living psycho psychotherapy block two bill number three four dash zero zero nine one an act amending title 17 virgin islands cold chapter 5 section 41 relating to the courses of study in public schools to address gaps in education curriculum and workforce development by adding home economics equine studies information technology and by creating a reporting mechanism for the development and implementation for curriculum sponsored by senator genevieve r 0:32:20 whitaker invited testifiers raquel berry benjamin commissioner virgin islands department of education he's a kaiser callwood chairman virgin islands board of education dr michelle t Francoise, Chairman, Virgin Islands Board of Career and Technical Education. Bill number 34-0097, an act amending Title 17, Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 3, Section 24A-2-2, to establish and mandate stakeholders engagement and participation in the development of a report for the annual assessment and evaluation of all public school facilities and adding subsection E to require stakeholders to hold town hall meetings on st croix st thomas and st john sponsored by senator genevieve r whitaker invited testifiers raquel berry benjamin commissioner virgin islands department of education kaiser carwood chairman virgin islands board of education dr michael t francois chairman virgin islands board of career and technical education block three the committee will receive testimony from the Department of Labor on the status update on the unemployment insurance lost wages assessment pro assistance program federal pandemic unemployment assessment program assistance program I'm sorry summer employment payments invited testifier mr. Gary Molloy commissioner Virgin Islands Department of Labor Madam Chair that is it thank you madam clerk so at this time I want to run and proceed with the with the oath for those of course I know we have might be new to testifying for the first time and so it's I will repeat the oath and just ask you to raise your right hand and and in the end of the statement just I 0:34:21 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 2 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 I do. And as for the public's awareness, it's pursuant to our own rules, Rule 507B of the 34 legislature. Do you solemnly affirm, can you please raise your right hand? Everyone, I should see one on screen. Please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly affirm, under penalty of perjury, that the testimony you will give to this committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, to the best of your knowledge and belief? And I want to also recognize the presence of committee member, Senator Collar-Joseph. Welcome. 0:36:22 I know she was trying to get in. Welcome. And so we can mark Senator Joseph as present. So at this time, we're going to kind of jump right in. We're going to proceed with the first block. and that and that's concerning bill number 34-0097 who speaks to this bill okay senator please recognize senator saru thank you madam chair good afternoon to the testifiers good afternoon to those listening of viewing and good afternoon to my colleagues. Today we're here with bill number 34-0097, and it's a bill to end corporate punishment in public schools. This legislation was actually section four of the Women, Children and Families Act, and after the Women, Children and Families Act, which was an omnibus bill, went through the entire process about four to five times, on session day an amendment came to gut the bill and to gut the section that ended corporal punishment. The reason that the body felt corporal punishment should remain in the code, the book of Proverbs was cited to spare the child and something with the rod. So we conveniently found the Bible at that moment to support the reason to keep corporate punishment. And then during the recess, my colleagues had a nice conversation about how they used to get beat. Well, they didn't have to get cowhide and the cowhide was heading to the top of a door and they had to take the whip off, 0:37:05 the tree. And it sounded so much like slavery, rooted in slavery. And I find in our education system, our emotional intelligence is inadequate. The ability to sit and to reason with a person and find out why are you doing the things that you're doing, taking the time to understand well, maybe this child is acting up because they're coming from a troubled home. There things that when I taught, if a child is rude, there's a reason behind why they're acting the way that they're acting. So we came back today, you know, when my bills die, go back and I re-strategize. 0:39:02 So I came back today with a four-page legislation, not a one-liner, four pages detailing what corporate punishment is and what it exempts and defining corporate punishment throughout the code. So Section 1 repeals Section 130 of Title 17 that would authorize the use of corporate punishment in public schools and it bans it. It defines what's reasonable force. It prescribes factors for determining the reasonable use of physical force and grants immunity from civil and criminal liability to a school employee who in the reasonable course of employment uses reasonable force against the people under the conditions set forth in the statute. Section 2 repeals Title 17 VIC subsection 97 because that statute has been construed to authorize the administration of corporal punishment, and in Section 3, amends Title 14 VI Code, Subsection 107, which excludes reasonable and moderate physical discipline from child abuse. So we really went into detail with this legislation, and the department officials are there to answer questions today, to give their testimony. 0:39:44 We have this psychotherapist online, we have Miss Nisha, she used to be Nisha Jones, Nisha Dijon Charles, online to give her testimony, a public school product as well. And a few things that, we could beat a child till Jesus comes. It does not keep them out of prison. It does not. The stringent zero tolerance and no excuses school policies. The data shows 50% of children in foster care end up in a prison system. So we have to look at ways, creative ways to discipline our children, give them second chances outside of constantly beating them. I know I don't like to get beat, so from childhood to now. 0:41:10 So I think that will conclude it and the message as well, when two adults hit each other, is called assault so we can't send the wrong message that an adult hitting a child is okay because that transcends into adulthood that it is okay to solve problems physically so i'll yield at this time madam chair for the discussion to take place and thank you for the opportunity to introduce the legislation. Thank you Senator Saru. So we'll now proceed with five-minute rounds. Oh my apologies, I'm jumping, jumping a gun, my apologies. So we have, let me, my apologies. So I want to see who is online. Do we have a representative from the boy and live in? Yes. Okay, great. So if media could. Good morning, Ms. Charles. Welcome. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I apologize, Senator. Are you giving me invitation to begin at this point? Yes. So you'll now proceed. We're reading your testimony. 0:41:57 Okay, thank you. Thank you. Good day. Honorable Genevieve Whitaker, chairwoman of the committee on Education and Workforce Development, other committee members, non-committee members present, fellow testifiers, as well as a listening and viewing audience. My name is Anisha Dajon Charles. I am the owner of Boynt Living Psychotherapy, presently operating both on St. Thomas and St. John. I am a certified independent clinical social worker and licensed psychotherapist with over 14 years practice experience. I am best known from my expertise in trauma counseling. I have spent the majority of my professional career in public service providing for the readjustment needs of veterans and their families as well as military service members as a psychotherapist with the department of veterans affairs and behavioral health officer with the virgin alice national guard in addition i have served as a territorial program manager of positive changes an alternative to drug and violence intervention program within our alternative school system amongst other 0:43:13 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 3 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 things to say the least i have an intimate understanding of the impacts violence has on the brain development and behavioral functioning my personal mission and that avoid living psychotherapy is to provide culturally sensitive mental health services helping to create spaces for virgin islanders to access mental health care with that i am truly grateful for the opportunity to weigh in on this bill as it pertains to corporal punishment within the schools of the u.s virgin islands as a psychotherapist and researcher completing doctoral studies at the university of pennsylvania i have a rare insight and vast curiosity about the violence we are experiencing in our community and the correlation between student experiences and this issue of corporal punishment in doing my research and preparation for today i was surprised to learn that during last year's heron it was stated that there were no reported cases of corporal punishment within the schools still there seemed to be some discrepancy or concern about excessive use of force After careful review of the VI code, I realized this issue of corporal punishment in the territory is not one of whether there have been any cases, but instead the subjective nature of what qualifies as corporal punishment and excessive use of force. It appears that there is some imaginary threshold that helps us qualify and measure these incidents. Perhaps an incident with a close fist might qualify while an incident of discipline, including two rulers joined by tape, might not. I am also curious about the time period this data was collected and whether or not it was before the pandemic as kids were mostly learning via virtual platforms. Lastly because the schools do not have a non-affiliated third party person to objectively assess these incidents and it is the responsibility perhaps of the person issuing the discipline and or where colleague faculty to report said cases, it is almost impossible to state with confidence we do not have a problem with corporal punishment in our school grounds. Because this process appears very elusive and subjective to say the least, we may assume a count of zero truly reflects the reality of what is occurring in our schools. But sadly, it does not. 0:45:17 If only we consider the recent accusations regarding incidents of sexual assault. So the question I have is, is corporal punishment in schools effective? As I proceed, it will become clear why I can, without apprehension, use the terms corporal punishment and abuse almost interchangeably. But first, I must contextualize this issue as our own respective histories with corporal punishment may taint our ability to view this matter objectively, conjuring up images based upon our personal experiences, be it good, bad, or indifferent. So what really is corporal punishment? 0:46:27 What is its history? And furthermore, why should it matter to us all? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that child might have treatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. One type of abuse is physical abuse, which is the use of physical force such as hitting, kicking, shaking, burning, or other shows of force against a child. As defined by the bill before us, corporal punishment is the intentional infliction of physical pain upon the body of a pupil as a disciplinary measure. This intentional infliction of physical pain upon a child is a form of violence that would otherwise be regarded as an assault in a different context. As a community, we have become complicit in our efforts to disallow modern day violence. 0:47:03 Family violence is prohibited, violence in the community is also prohibited, yet when we continue to tolerate school violence under the disguise of discipline it is also a permanent importance to note that the u.s virgin islands is one of the few remaining places in the u.s that have failed to ban corporal punishment in our school system why is that you might ask in fact of the states that have failed to ban corporal punishment to date most schools are attended by blacks and other minority groups i wish to restate arguments against corporal punishment Corporal punishment is a form of coercive violence and children who are physically punished are at increased risk of serious bodily injury at minimum and worse are more likely than not to be defiant and aggressive in their future. Without exception, the research shows that physical punishment is associated with higher levels of aggression against parents, siblings, peers, and spouses. The research also indicates this form of discipline disproportionately affects the black community children with learning disabilities and males are exceptionally vulnerable in fact these kids are more likely than not to have problems with the law in their future but how did we get here and is there a coincidence between the u.s virgin islands public school system almost exclusively attended by blacks and this sustained practice of corporal punishment in rural areas and the south i think we can better benefit from an understanding of the historical origins of corporal punishment in the black community. Violence against our children is a legacy of slavery whereby enslaved Africans were not only beaten into submission but were made to perform these whoopings or violent acts on each other in the presence of slave owners. Historians and anthropologists alike found no evidence that these ritualistic forms of physical discipline existed prior to the Atlantic slave trade. Instead, the opposite is true. West African societies children in a much higher regard than slave societies a notable difference in how black 0:47:54 bodies in the west are treated to this day yet this practice of inflicting bodily harm on our children to achieve obedience persists despite the abundance of research that indicates this method of discipline is both ineffective in the long term and 0:49:51 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 4 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 consequential in the interim corporal punishment positively correlates with increased aggression and decreased moral internalization of appropriate behavior corporal punishment teaches aggression and use of force as an acceptable method of problem solving and further an expression of love i love you therefore i hurt you again a mirror image of the larger community where we consider the increased prevalence of intimate partner violence in our community this practice of hitting children as part of discipline is deeply embedded in cultural views government and social policy i empathize with the belief that physical force would garner the respect of kids and make more make children more obedient and responsive to authority without simultaneously increasing the level of societal discord violence and engagement in the juvenile system the impact of physical discipline is exceptional to include accidental injuries physical changes to the developing brain and body as a result of trauma and stress mental health issues such as depression anxiety poor emotional regulation increase dependence and abuse of illicit drugs researchers have found that children with learning disabilities including attention deficit disorder are more likely than their counterparts to experience corporal punishment in school contrary to popular belief studies have found corporal punishment has been practiced or favored whenever a faculty member lacked emotional regulation resources and tools several studies have found physical punishment correlates with slow cognitive development and adversely affects academic achievement in fact neuroimaging of the brain is consistent with the body of literature that suggests these adverse childhood experiences negatively impact the logical emotional social intellectual development as well as the physical health of a child resulting in lower educational attainment the literature is overwhelming firmly put corporal punishment in our school system must stop further it is a dangerous practice to abort data and ignore the consequences of these actions we have to stop hurting our children to protect them it is not working and worse it erodes our children's humanity and co-signs a slave master's logic that you have to hit a black body to make it comply there's a pipeline that exists between corporal punishment and the individual on my couch who has to unpack trauma unlearned destructive behaviors ultimately to realize and understand how their post-traumatic slavery histories largely affect their present-day functioning, how they see themselves, how they exist in society, and how they are acted upon by the larger community. These clients rely on therapy to cultivate non-violent skills, a healthy self-image and self-esteem, as well as learn the historical context to deepen their appreciation for adaptive behaviors that depart from the early European ruler. There must be a forward focus on who these students become in the future and mindfulness and how we can shape them and what we impress upon them for the sake of their future functioning as a community we have condoned the use of corporal punishment within our school system as a way of enforcing rules and modifying behavior but the question is are we interested in developing perpetrators and victims of continued violence or critical thinkers who are confident and capable solution makers we must recognize the practice of inflicting physical pain encourages violence. Though we are speaking about corporal punishment within our schools, there is an overflow within the community, compounded by the absence of other forms of behavior modification and character development that manifests itself in a variety of ways. Why does disagreement or rejection yield murder? What causes someone to use their power or position to rob children of their voice, identity, or innocence? Notwithstanding any misinterpretation, these issues do not exist in a vacuum and it is not my intent to inflate the relationship between corporal punishment in school and what occurs in our society except our schools are a microcosm of the larger community in fact when social scientists control for mediating variables in their assessment of the benefits of corporal punishment the findings are consistent in conclusion the short answer to the corporal punishment question is yes it should be banned in our schools i recognize that we need to equip our community and school authorities with the necessary resources and tools in order to rid ourselves of the corporal punishment to consequences pipeline we cannot continue to depend upon corporal punishment as a means to eradicate low academic performance truancy limited psychological testing and counseling and other areas for growth when the issue that persists are largely systematic in nature in closing it is my opinion that corporal punishment should be outlawed in our schools and i hope my testimony encourages curiosity about effective nonviolent strategies to improve school outcomes and lastly help us depreciate the value 0:51:50 of inflicting physical pain on black bodies thank you thank you very much ms charles for your testimony thank you very much very very profound thank you powerful thank you we'll now move on to the next testifier the honorable commissioner of education Raquel Berry-Benjamin, Commissioner Berry-Benjamin, you may proceed with your testimony. Thank you, Senator Whitaker. Good afternoon to the 34th Legislature. Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony today on Bill No. 34-0097. seven. Good afternoon, Honorable Genevieve R. Whitaker, Chairwoman of the Committee on Education and Workforce Development, members of the committee, other members of the 34th legislature, other testifiers, and the listening and viewing audiences. I am Raquel Berry Benjamin, Commissioner of the VI Department of Education, and I'm pleased to present to you the VIDE's position relative to Bill 34-0097, an act repealing and reenacting Title 17 of the Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 11, Section 130, relating to authority to discipline pupils in schools, and repealing Title 17 of the Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 9, Subsection I, Section 87, relating to 0:54:46 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 5 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 punishment of pupils by school officials. Members of my senior leadership team present with me to provide testimony are attorney Alvincent Hudson, legal counsel, Cynthia Moore, legal counsel, Mr. Victor Sum, assistant commissioner, Dr. Stefan Juergen, insular superintendent, St. Thomas, St. John district mr carlos mcgregor insular superintendent st croix district and other supports as necessary the american academy of child and adolescent psychiatry of referred to as aaca moving forward psychiatry moving forward defines corporal punishment as a disciplinary and deliberate method used by adults to inflict pain on a child because of unacceptable behavior. Corporal punishment may include various modes of striking a child, such as the use of hands, paddles, yardsticks, belts, or other objects to incite pain and fear to curtail unwanted behaviors. 0:56:36 It sets examples and aligns the behavior of the child with the expectations of the adult. The effects of corporal punishment are adverse and long-term, having negative effects on the mental, emotional, and social health of children that can carry into adulthood. The AACAP asserts that corporal punishment is detrimental, thus supports legislation that outlaws the use of corporal punishment. However, despite legislative measures, a large number of children are continually being subjected to corporal punishment within educational systems, which may be the result of gaps in the enforcement of laws and policies that regulate corporal punishment unfortunately corporal punishment remains as one form of teacher to student violence where teachers implement implemented as a disciplinary measure to correct classroom behaviors or as punishment for poor academic performance Corporal punishment in schools is an act of violence against students. 0:57:43 As the Commissioner of the VI Department of Education, I wish to place on the record again, as I stated in our July 22, 2020 testimony relative to Bill 33.0103, that the VIDE does not condone corporal punishment for any acts of violence against children. We must place emphasis on changing students' behavior by means other than imposing physical corporal punishment. 0:59:03 As such, the leadership of the VIDE stands in support of the language in Bill 34-0097 that is dedicated to outlying corporal punishment in the current code within title 17 chapter 11 section 130 which gives teachers and other personnel authority to discipline sharon it states all principles and teachers in the public schools should have the right to exercise the same authority as to conduct and behavior over pupils attending their schools during the time they are in attendance including the time required in going to and from their homes as parents guardians or persons in parental relations to such pupils the vide is grateful for careful word choices and language chosen in this bill to codify and clearly define what discipline in our schools look like and that it should be in a way that nurtures a more positive learning environment defining student discipline in the code is important because it sets the precedence and makes lucid what is acceptable and unacceptable relative to student discipline. Additionally, the bill outlines reasonable force as force and no more with a reasonable person in like circumstances would judge to be necessary to prevent an injury or loss and may include deadly force. If it is reasonable to believe that such force is necessary to avoid injury or risk of one's life or safety or the life of life or safety of another, or it It is reasonable to believe that such force is necessary to resist a like force or threat. The bill further goes on to outline the actions that are not considered corporal punishment. The reason that emphasis is given on the language is because this bill has not only replaced an ambiguous statement but it upgraded it with a strong structure to start building a more positive communication centered relationship between students and teachers. This protects our students from subsequent misunderstandings. To further strengthen the bill, the leadership of the VIDE asserts that there is a great 0:59:37 and equal need for this law to specify the entity responsible for creating student discipline policy and the entity responsible for enforcing the policy specifically the virgin islands board of education is the entity accountable for student discipline thus is responsible for creating and updating all policies relative to student discipline the board of education has a student disciplinary policy on record in which the vi department of education adheres to public education is about creating the best environment for our children to thrive to thrive in and to do and to do that we must first ensure that our students are safe and that they feel safe bill number 34-0097 proposed by the honorable senator saru supports the vide's efforts to create safe learning environments for our students moreover it supports the vide's position of greater implementation of evidence-based disciplinary practices such as multi-tiered systems of support positive behavioral and intervention supports and response to intervention that are designed to mitigate student disciplinary issues the vide's leadership realizes that supporting the legislation is only the first step in the effort to end violence against our children the key to successfully ending violence against children is for all public and private entities members the community along with community organizations to work together in solidarity on behalf of the safety of our children and it starts with our actions first the leadership of the vide comprehends and understands that acts 1:02:12 of violence against our students run deeper and wider than just corporal punishment within our schools. Acts of violence against children have roots that extend into their homes and communities where our students reside. Thus, it becomes the 1:04:06 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 6 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 plea of the VIDE to our leaders, legislators, and private and community partners to acknowledge their roles in keeping our children safe. The VIDE welcomes partnerships and collaborations designed to curtail corporal punishment and other acts of violence against children. The Safe to Learn initiative asserts that learning and safety cannot exist in silo because children cannot learn if they do not feel safe. Learning and safety must go hand in hand in order for our students to succeed there must be a holistic approach to safe learning environments and by its positioning the virgin islands department of education sits at the nexus between students parents and the virgin islands community in closing bill number 34-0097 represents a step toward ending and raising awareness of corporal punishment against our most precious jewels. Punitive interactions tend to feed a vicious circle of violence, delinquency, and further exclusion. According to the World Bank, ending violence in and around school is essential to reap the benefits from education and ensure children's well-being. Chairwoman Whitaker and fellow committee members we are deeply appreciative of the opportunity to share testimony on bill number 34-0097 an act repealing and reenacting title 17 of the virgin islands code chapter 11 section 130 relating to authority to discipline pupils in schools and repealing title 17. um we appreciate your efforts to create legislation to support the education and well-being of our most precious gems my team and i are available to answer any questions you might have thank you thank you commissioner barry benjamin for your testimony thank you very much and so we'll um as i'm what we'll do now is take a just a brief two-minute recess and we'll start the first round of questioning and so we'll do it it's a brief two-minute recess collect ourselves and we will begin this committee on education workforce development stands for a two-minute recess Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 1:05:55 The Committee on Education and Workforce Development is back out of recess. Before we move to our round of questioning, I want to first recognize our last testifier in this block. We have Ms. Christina N. Lee Williams. Ms. Williams, will you proceed with your testimony? If you want also, please put your title also on the record. 1:14:46 Excuse me. Miss Lee, Miss Williams, would you proceed? Sure. Good day, honorable Genevieve R. Whitaker, chairperson of the Committee on Education and Workforce Development, committee members, other distinguished guests and senators present and the listening and viewing audience. I am Christina N. Lee Williams, former educator in both public and private educational institutions in the Virgin Islands. And I've also attended both public and private schools in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 1:15:19 I'm a graduate of the University of the Virgin Islands, attaining an Associates of Arts in inclusive early childhood education, a bachelor's of arts in elementary education, and a master's of arts in education with specialization in educational leadership. i am also a part of the second cohort of the university of the virgin islands phd program in creative leadership for innovation and change i appreciate being given the opportunity to give testimony on bill number 34-0097 and act repealing and reenacting title 17 of the virgin islands code chapter 11 section 130 relating to the authority to discipline pupils in school and relating to to punishment of pupils by school officials. I'm in full support of this legislation. The advantage of the passing of this bill is as follows. Students will not be subjected to an antiquated way of discipline which is corporal punishment that can lead to adverse physical psychological and educational outcomes such as an increase in aggressive and destructive behavior and poor school achievement. The Academy of Pediatrics expressed that corporal punishment may adversely affect student's self-image and school achievement and may contribute to disruptive and violent behavior the children of the virgin islands deserve better and the passing of the bill is one step closer in that direction in reviewing the proposed bill relating to the authority to discipline pupils in school and relating to punishment of pupils by school officials the bill as the bill will assist to bring about change for the betterment of our children corporal punishment if utilized violates children's right to respect their human dignity and physical integrity and their rights to health development education and freedom from torture and other cruel inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment and they deserve the right for equal protection under the law in conclusion i recommend the passage of bill number 34-0097 and i commend the sponsors of the bill for their willingness to address corporal punishment as it relates to the authority of the discipline of pupils in school and relating to the punishment of pupils by school officials in the United States Virgin Islands. 1:15:53 So that change can be evoked that will protect the children in the territory. Madam chair, this ends my testimony and I'm available to answer any questions you or your committee may have. Thank you. Thank you very much. Ms. Williams for your testimony. Thank you. And before we proceed with the first round of questioning, I'd like to recognize committee member, Senate president, Donna Fred Gregory. good afternoon and welcome okay so we'll now proceed with the first round of questioning okay and senator james are you ready to proceed with your first round madam clerk five minutes you may proceed senator james thank you madam chair for the time good afternoon to the people of the u.s virgin islands 1:18:07 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 7 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 and once again may the soul of holland former Senator Helen Redfield the second, rest in peace. This is a very interesting legislation that we have here today. We had a legislation similar to this in the 33rd legislature of the Virgin Islands. And I just want to say to the sponsor of the bill, I concur with her sentiments and intent of the bill. Recently I've been advocating for legislation that speaks to child abuse and child neglect. So this falls in line with some of my goals that I'm trying to accomplish as far as making sure that we protect our children in the schools. But my question to the Department of Education, I think that would be Commissioner Rachel Berry, as far as the enforceability of the measure, how can you see yourself and your staff being able to reprogram and train the mindset of our staff in the schools to make sure that they understand what we're trying to achieve as lawmakers. 1:19:24 Thank you so much for the question, Senator. I want to start before I respond to your question by stating that the Department of Education has certainly started that work, as I indicated, some of the preventative measures and behaviors as opposed to physical spanking or physical interactions with students, such as our positive intervention measures. That's just one example. And one employee or one teacher does not represent all of the VI Department of Education staff. So with that, we have begun this work and it's a matter of accountability. It's a matter of enforcing policy, doing a complete retraining and encouraging our employees as well to know that their behavior in and out of work as community citizens, as residents of this Virgin Islands matters because it's not just in school, but our behaviors in and out of school is what will make the difference and help to change mindsets. Besides our internal training, our research-based approaches that i mentioned in my testimony um to include actual um role play with parents for example role play with our our administrators and how to handle real life situations and those from the past and how we will address them how we will handle them to make sure that our children um receive the proper response to their behavior so that we get to the root of the problem So Commissioner, thank you for that response. So my question, does the Department of Education have jurisdiction over private schools as well? Yes or no? No? 1:20:08 With respect to corporal punishment and knowing whether or not they engage in corporal punishment, no, we do not have jurisdiction over the private schools. We have jurisdiction over their structuring and startup to be an existing educational entity, making sure that they have the proper credentials to exist. I would encourage that this bill, of course, it is law, so we will all be subjected to it to include private schools. So I think the law covers private and public institutions in terms of accountability. And that is where I was getting at, so thank you for responding. and as far as the statistics and data when we have incidences of staff engaging in corporate punishment and there there are like investigations that are that are conducted do we have data there and what do you do with the data when it comes when it comes when it comes to that what do you do with the data um thank you so that's how you ask two questions in one so first senator i think we all all the testifiers here today to include a sponsor of the bill pointed out the obvious um this isn't a department of education issue locally nor what it is a community-wide issue it is a cultural issue it is something that has to be addressed community-wide first before the public school private school and any other school can reflect the behaviors that we desire to see from our teachers and education personnel so historically no data in the department of education has not been labeled in our system as corporal punishment um all of us i think it i know i know for sure i have been a a student who received corporal punishment in our schools i'm sure many of you have as well and i guarantee you 1:21:56 if you go back in the records it does not have that rachel berry benjamin excuse or rachel very at the time experienced corporal punishment and it's recorded and the same is true today we record in our power school system according to the number of suspensions and the number of incident types for example that takes place but it's a hush hush in our community for too long and that's why we are here today so moving forward once this becomes law and we internally create our policy and and follow suit with enforcement you can guarantee that our system will reflect if someone actually uh demonstrated corporate punishment because it is it will be against the law at that time my time was called i don't want to abuse my time but just to make sure you do have the collection of data when we have those instances of um corporate punishment and and um dealing um no senator i said we do not because it's it's not even reported that someone engaged in corporal punishment with a child that's not something that anyone says and it's a cultural um issue for many years keeping this um quote-unquote silent understood just want to make sure i heard correctly um thank you madam chair for the time and thank you commissioner for your statements today on the record okay now proceed to senator ceru for your senator senator billet thank you thank you madam chair uh commissioner have you had a lot of incidents in reference to abuse of corporal punishment prior to covid 19. 1:23:56 if i have had no no senator and if they occurred they were not brought to our attention or reported again this is just a matter that is kept silent so no that's a no okay so in and i see the need for the bill i'm not going to to speak against the bill per se but i just wanted to make sure that we put on the record that um we have not i know i've been in education for a number of years I have not heard of any number of reports being made to the Department of Education in reference to the abuse of corporal punishment. Mr. McGregor, Superintendent, have you had any complaints before, prior to COVID-19? 1:25:35 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 8 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 No, Senator. No complaints regarding corporal punishment. Okay. I read, just about read the bill, and it defines a lot, and it speaks to the ability of if you read the language it speaks to the ability of monitors to be able to to be quell a disturbance by being able to restrain a student disease reasonably and it goes on to define exactly what type of incidents that staff from the school can can be involved in and I also like the section where it says reasonable circumstances to include encouraging or supporting the pupil because many times a teacher walking around the classroom and they just tap a student and the arm and said focus do your work that that is not considered corporal punishment so I think that the bill seeks to stop abuse and I thank God in the Virgin Islands that we have not seen that type of abuse in the school system and it actually still allows you to be able to encourage or support student and it allows for monitors in the event that there there's a there's a fight going on that you're able to to restrain that individual you know we must always continue to have the ability to quell disturbances because if you don't and you're just over there saying please behave please behave you you run the risk of students getting really really hurt so i i am going to to support um this particular measure i know most school systems that i have just about all that i've been in and all that i know and i've been in education 30 years education staff are very supportive and nine out of ten time they're like the parent they're going in the packet, the purchase, they do everything. They're super supportive. And also, the bill clarifies various areas. So at the appropriate time, I will lend my support and the good former education commissioner, she will be able to put on the record as to whether or not she dealt with any abuse of corporal punishment. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. 1:26:27 Thank you. We'll now move on to Senator Potter. You may perceive that you're around your questioning. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Good afternoon, colleagues. Good afternoon to the testifiers, and good afternoon to the people of the Virgin Islands. I didn't see the Board of Education here as testifiers. I know the Board of Education ultimately is the entity that would set the policy with regards to corporal punishment in the territory. Madam Chair, I don't know if they were invited or if they just did not have a presentation to this. I wanted to ask what the current policy on corporal punishment in the Virgin Islands public school system was. So I'm not sure, Commissioner Berry Benjamin, if you're aware, or one of the superintendents are aware specifically what the current policy regarding corporal punishment is. 1:28:48 Thank you, Senator Potter. So the superintendents will speak about the disciplinary policy, the Board of Education. First of all, in 1993, Commissioner Creakey, it was allowable. It was written on our books that corporal punishment was allowed. Since then, we've had several policy updates within the Department of Education that clearly informed our staff that it is not allowed by policy, although it was allowed on the books by law it was not allowed um no longer my policy and the depart the department of education our superintendents and our schools utilizes the board of education student disciplinary policy and those have levels of infractions um level one infractions and disciplinary responses it's a whole host of them i don't know if it's appropriate to use your time to go through them but do know that we have that board's policy in which um we we have level of infractions and a way to respond to each case is is any level there's any level um is is corporate punishment acceptable at any level of the infractions Yes. 1:30:00 No, Senator. Okay, okay. Just in general, I know that as a Virgin Islander, someone who was corporally punished, I think we almost look at corporal punishment in a sort of a nostalgic sort of way. We get together with our friends and we reflect on those days when we were punished. when your mother sent you in the yard for a switch, or when Miss Andre at Lockhart School beat you with a fungistick, and it's almost like, you know, just a badge of honor, it's like war stories that you're sharing, but it is clear that all of the experts in the field, the experts in the field, all of the experts, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, all of them, people who study this, who study human behavior, consistently come down against corporal punishment. So for us to pick and choose which experts we, when we want to follow the experts, and they want to accept what they're saying, I think is wrong. I think corporal punishment, the time to end the corporal punishment officially without any mixed messages in our educational system is now. I know we were all corporally punished. There is a better way now. It takes some time, it takes some effort, it takes some work, you know, to administer an appropriate punishment, appropriate discipline. But corporal punishment breeds persons who think 1:31:27 that one way to solve a problem is to physically inflict your will, your force against someone who is more vulnerable. So I stand in support of this measure. I think that it should be very clear. There shouldn't be any vagueness or any doubt that corporal punishment in the territory no longer acceptable um so i i you know at the appropriate time i stand in support of the senator's initiative thank you senator potter thank you thank you very much i'll recognize senator saru for her point of information senator saru thank you madam chair two things one um corporate punishment and serious cases have happened in schools as we know reporting is not as it should be and things don't always make it up to the district or the state level and to the Board of Education's policy and corporate punishment is on their website and their policy on corporate punishment they have basically cited the code that's what they did so the Board of Education's but it's anything 1:33:20 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 9 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 listening me and he had a question the board of education's policy former director of personnel is on their website and their policy is the code they cited the code thank you madam chair thank you we'll now proceed senator joseph we'll proceed with your questions thank you so much madam chair i'm hoping that you can hear me yes we can loud and clear beautiful once again thank you madam chair a pleasant good afternoon colleagues a pleasant good afternoon testifiers and a pleasant good afternoon to the people of the virgin islands this is a timely conversation for us to have a discussion relative to how we inflict discipline and how discipline is treated in our public school system similar to most of my colleagues i have too also been disciplined using that method of corporal punishment but not a lot for my teachers i wanted to ask and i think one of the other entities that we should have included in this conversation would have been the aft the american teachers the american federation of teachers um they would have been able to provide us some really good instances because they are underground and in the trenches relative to how corporate punishment has played out in the school system and especially our public school system so absent of them being present here i wanted to look at uh asking a couple of questions of our good commissioner raquel barry benjamin and it's so good to see you i i'm very thankful that you are here and you're well enough to be here and testify so i wanted to ask you in your comments on page one one of your testimony you mentioned this is in the second paragraph one two yes you mentioned that and i just taking at the end piece of this is on line four other objects to incite pain and fear to curtail unwanted behaviors now i'm glad that the proponents have delineated in the bill certain areas of where you know corporal well such disciplinary measures can be taken place because when you say fear i know when we were growing up all of us were growing up to keep us from doing things that would harm us and to protect us our teachers and even our parents would say don't go in this area because it's dark this and this will happen to you so i i think more so corporal punishment is part of the pain and not necessary and it comes with the the fear too but mostly the physical harm uh commissioner kindly indicate for us um what type of strategies that you have employed 1:35:51 i know you are a teacher uh to discipline persons who may have uh presented unwanted behavior or inappropriate behavior thank you thank you so much uh senator joseph for the warm welcome back as well as your question uh so as as teachers we are trained um at least i was as well um trained on various evidence-based disciplinary practices. And I think I mentioned some earlier. So first of all, the first thing we do as educators that we're trained to do is to speak, question, listen, so that we can hear really the root of the problem so we could address the root of the problem. That's the very first thing. And that comes with trust. As educators, that's the first thing we have to do. And we're taught to build trust. And that comes with relationships. 1:38:24 If you don't know your students, you cannot teach them. If they don't know your heart and know that you care, you cannot teach them. So the first thing we are taught to do is listen, get to know your students, build that trust so that you can address their needs before you could talk academics and teaching them whatever subject matter it is. So that's number one. The positive behavior intervention, I mean, from building school morale, coming up with, for example, school came up with mascots, and coming up with core principles and virtues that the school and parents and students and everyone agree that these virtues and core values represents us as a body. us in our classroom. And then we work from that as teachers so that we can address and strive to reach the level of, quote, unquote, behavioral patterns that we wish to see exhibit within ourselves and our students. So before, many years ago, we told children, go in a corner, stand with books, get on your knees, put books in the air. We've had all of those conditioning behaviors or reactions and forms of discipline in students. Today, we encourage our teachers to utilize the practices that we spend good federal dollars on to respond to students' behaviors, unwanted behaviors. So from the past to now, we've had more evidence-based practices that we've implemented lots of training that we've implemented i must say this if you allow me senator joseph on your time well well the time was called but it's okay you can proceed on my time it's fine go ahead respectfully i understand go ahead go ahead commissioner 1:39:23 Okay. So I heard Senator Whitaker. The positive behavior intervention program that we trained our teachers on, I must say that it is very disheartening. I was very disappointed going through that program, its whole implementation, because our cultural behaviors, cultural Trump's strategy every day, all day. And we all know that as leaders here on this hearing. Culture Trump's strategy. And the culture, the Virgin Islands culture, trumped that whole program. 1:41:26 Where we could have gotten 100 percent out of it, we may have gotten 10 to 20 percent in terms of buying and commitment from our staff. And that is because of what Senator Potter said. You know, somebody say, go get a tarman whip, and then we take pride in our beatings, and we have stories and laughter over the way we were beating or the way we beat our children at the time. So all of that, actually, you know, we didn't embrace that fully to say, I am committed to at least questioning what I do. I may not have to 100% buy in to what I'm being taught on the methods, but at least let me question myself and be open to it. And the Department of Education spent millions of dollars on that program, and we struggled and we are not as successful as we should have been. So I say that to ask everyone in the community listening 1:42:09 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 10 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 today that it truly takes us as a community to commit to changing our behavioral patterns because children do what they see, not what they're told. Thank you, Senator Witteka, for the time. Thank you. And I'll proceed to Senator Fred Gregory, you may proceed with your questions. Thank you, Madam Chair, and good afternoon to my Department of Education family. I must say that I am somewhat disappointed because it is important when we have discussions of this nature, and when we're moving significant legislation, the appropriate stakeholders should be at the table. And the Virgin Islands Board of Education is very much missing today. And we need to make sure that we do a better job of ensuring that we have the appropriate people at the table when we are making these types of decisions. It's important to hear from all sides of the table. I did take some time to look at what the Board of Education has on their website as it relates to corporal punishment, and it's basically what's in the Virgin Islands Code, as noted by the bill sponsor. 1:43:13 Now this discussion that we're having today is in fact not a new one. I recall somewhere about 2011, 2012, former Senator Nellie O'Reilly brought this before The Senate and the Department of Education came and testified, and the majority of the people in the community at that time were not in favor. Ten years later, or eleven years later, we are seeing that the world has changed. We are seeing that our children are being abused not only in their homes, but also in the schools. 1:44:23 So it is important that we move with the times. is important that we ensure that we are protecting our children I did some research and I noted my research went back as far back as 2018 that corporal punishment is currently legal in 19 states and they're they're mostly are studying states I hope that on the chair the sponsor of the legislation is listening 19 states currently have corporal punishment and they are mostly in our southern states and states like Texas Utah has it allows for corporal punishment however it requires the parent or guardian to sign off on a written permission in order for students to be given that type of discipline now I've taken some time to review the legislation and I have some concerns and my concerns around the fact that the bill is indicating that is written to exclude verbal recrimination and chastisement from the definition of corporal punishment and I think those of us that are here we recalled what happened in the Department of Education somewhere around 2012 so that's corporal punishment it created a huge issue so I am asking that it is important that basically it lacks the component to protect our children from verbal cruelty so that's a missing component that means I see that we could you we could do some amending to and I'm so I'm not sure why the bill sponsor removed that but it's important that you know verbal verbal abuse is also a major issue okay 1:45:03 also I note in the legislation that it speaks on the 130c4 that it says that corporal punishment does not include actions towards a person who is not a pupil of that respective school but it probably should say who's a not a people of the respective public school system because we play sports we compete with other schools and you know students must be disciplined at all times it can't be some for one and not for the next so I think that's an oversight as well and then my third concern is heavy force where there is there is a note speaking to where the it's not it says a factor to determine a reasonableness of physical force and it is based on the extent and nature of resulting injury some of us are stronger than others so we may get we may be physically in there may be physical force but we may not receive in their injury we may not be injured so we need to make a determination as to how do we measure the level of force because force is force it doesn't mean you have to be injured so those are my concerns around the legislation now Commissioner and I think one of my colleagues asked a question but I was outside so pardon me if I'm asking it again do you have a significant amount of instances where there is corporal punishment occurring in our schools yes the question hi senator the president president the question was asked and I responded by saying that no I do not because it's not recorded on commissioner barrier 1:47:02 benjamin i think you went on looks like you're muted yep oh yeah you want it what was the last thing oh so so senator i was indicating that um it is a silent matter within the department for far too long and we do not have evidence because it's not reported and recorded in our power school system like other incidents that may have been reported um such as fights corporal punishment is culturally ingrained and treated silent and acceptable for far too long and do we have in the in reading the legislation do you see where there is teat in the legislation that um if a if corporal if it is determined that corporal punishment occurs um on a student once the investigation is conducted you know how how is that employee dealt with based on what you see in the legislation do you see where there's teat in the legislation to address that um no senator and the superintendents and i in the team when we were discussing they did they did bring that up and talked about us following our internal due process you know through the unions and then of course escalating it if it becomes a quote-unquote legal legal matter beyond our our cba process i'm not sure if attorney hudson is able to Yeah, so that's exactly where I'm going with the conversation. I know not my time has been called, so that's exactly where I'm going with the discussion that, you know, so there seems to be that missing component around, you know, the responsibility for investigating and, you know, what's the teat in the legislation. I guess there can be policy established by your department 1:49:01 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 11 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 or the Board of Education, which is so important, why they should be here, there should be some component that requires the board to establish the policy around what occurs if corporal punishment does occur once this legislation is enacted. So those are my four concerns around the legislation, but for the most part, I am in favor of it with the recommended amendments. Thank you for the time, Madam Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Frank-Gregory. okay and i think that's um all i've seen other colleagues online i just wanted to um first off i i do also i commend on the sponsor for this legislation i just want to make a personal note i went to catholic school went to both catholic and and also public school and i know up until my catholic school days in fact there was a paddleboard and you knew that you wanted to avoid go into the principal's office so there's some perspective there at least on a personal level and i just wanted to as i understand it what the sponsor is seeking to do is as we may not have we likely don't have that exact practice in place in terms of what is happening in our schools at this time but we but we you know when we look at legislation that is still in the books we have to make those necessary changes so that it really comes down that we're looking at practices that match with the law. One of the things that I want to bring out in this process is the importance of even looking at education surrounding crime prevention. And one of the things that would be really powerful to do, because I just want to make as a note, where also that should be brought into this discussion is really when we teach about crime prevention so as a former professor at UVI I taught crime prevention and through that course a lot of the class some of my students they were you know police officers I had you know educate a different number of students from different backgrounds and I think that's really bring important to bring into this discussion because as we address this legislation to be important for the next set of you know teachers and administrators have requisite training in what is crime prevention and what that entails and it does dive into one of the areas that we touch in is into social development of a child and that's why I've been engaged in you know you know Commissioner Barry Benjamin and I have spoken about that in where we're doing a lot more testing at an early age there's one test that I really want to see laid out in the Virgin Islands is called psychoeducational testing and that delves into a lot of these areas as we look at supporting students in their educational development and so I really at this time I just wanted to put those words on this onto the record and certainly support the legislation and the way forward I understand there's a cultural component I really do I this is a situation when there's a cultural component but what we're saying is you know the right for you know parent really a parent you know a guardian has a right over their child and to give it over to someone else and i know historically that was the case um we do look back in our history where there was a lot more the village really wasn't raising a child right there really was a lot more village raising going on um we don't see that now and um it's a hard turn we're going to have to make in order to to see that kind of level of support in our community come back and so i look forward to our next steps in this process and certainly to this legislation and so at 1:51:15 this time okay so Senator Potter we proceed with your point of inquiry thank you madam chair I just wanted to get a small clarification from Commissioner Barry Benjamin in your testimony Commissioner you said that you wanted to make it clear that the Virgin Islands Department of Education does not condone corporal punishment or any acts of violence against children but I wanted to understand how what are teachers told their I guess the parameters are with respect to corporal punishment are they told that corporal punishment we have a zero tolerance for corporate punishment um are they told to just follow the code what what is communicated to teachers regarding corporate punishment yeah thank thank you so much um and i appreciate your question and allowing us the opportunity to provide clarity um i will allow both superintendents to respond because clearly that's that school and district matters that they deal with every day but do know that at the department i want to make it clear for the public that corporal punishment is simply not a term used or phrase used on a daily basis at the vi department of education within our schools we speak positive language we teach teachers about classroom management we teach teachers how to respond to the needs of children and address the root of problems and issues, use counseling, utilize our counselors, not how-to, disciplining from a...children from a punitive standpoint. But our superintendents train teachers and provide that level of training, so I will allow them to speak to specifically the language. And, no, we do not tell them to abide by the law, because we have...we don't agree with the law, and we have internally a practice of not encouraging and we do not enforce corporal punishment and we don't condone it we don't accept it in any way shape form or fashion superintendents 1:54:34 superintendent year again st thomas st john school district senator we speak to the board of education's policy when we speak uh to our administrators and teachers we speak from the standpoint of students breaking infractions and those infractions are categorized level one through four and for each infraction level there's an appropriate response um and our teachers are familiar with what those responses are you see that's guided again from the board of education's policy they're not they're not dr jordan they're not told look you do not put your hand on people's children you may not corporately punish physically punish a child yes no they are told that mr senator we we use plain language and if i'm meeting with my uh administrators or teachers do not put your hands on the people i'm cheering that's how that would come out to emphatically state that we're not condoning corporal punishment we do not condone corporal punishment 1:56:50 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 12 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 and and i am not saying that it doesn't exist but people have to know the tone of the leaders and if it surfaces that i'm aware of it action will be taken senator thank you thank you very much thank you very much thank you and I think also ties into professional development because actually if you once you all put together a professional development system one of the areas you're gonna highlight is as you put out a requirement and regulation to the teachers administrators to the teachers you're gonna have a way to measure if they're following your guidelines to Commissioner Berry Benjamin is that something as we work through this legislation is that something you put in place where the teachers are evaluated because it may all know they go through evaluation processes but that is how would you look to amend your evaluation processes through to the evaluation method for your teachers thank you senator and for clarity I'm not sure the evaluation I'm not sure that one is relating to the other but to your to your question as it related to professional development system. Let me be specific, so you know, everyone is employed, they get evaluated based on their performance, and the teachers go through a series of reviews. The principal, assistant principal reviews their work, how they're preparing the lesson plans and the like. How would you look at, you know, evaluate, how would this impact that? Will it have any impact, are you already doing this where a teacher is really evaluated to the classroom evaluation process and how they speak to the children, the verbal cues and the like. 1:59:08 Yeah, thank you so much for the clarity. So our evaluation system has four, well actually one of our tools, which weighs heaviest in our evaluation system has teacher professionalism, which is weighted. The heaviness of this specific situation clearly is not specifically pointed out in our evaluation system it will contribute to the weight of the overall evaluation uh but i cannot sit here and tell you that the teacher evaluation will be heavily impacted from one incident of corporal punishment because the the evaluation system has an overall weight that where everything is balanced um and it's not appropriate to compare the one to the to the other right at this moment i won't be able to give you the facts on it at this moment. 1:59:55 Okay. Senator Saru, and then Senator James, you have your point of inquiry. Who's going? James or me? So there's a stark difference between punishment and discipline. Very, very stark difference. And the intent of education on anybody in a system, whether it's athletics, coaching, whatever it may be, is to change the behavior of the child but not to inflict pain and in the Senate and in public policy we call that restorative justice that's what that is we have a very punitive system from from childhood into adulthood and as we can see minorities are the largest disenfranchised group that does not vote because they've lost the right to vote due to incarceration because of a very very punitive system a restorative justice cannot only begin when they're 18 and out the system but it should begin before um now we didn't include a verbal abuse component to corporal punishment because when you look at all the psychological websites and all the associations corporate punishment was a physical component it wasn't the the verbal component hence why it wasn't delineated in the legislation but if you um if you if the body politic wants to lean in that direction a section three can be established um a section four can be established for that and then um the requirement for the role of the board 2:00:49 of Education to enact a policy, that wasn't included as well in the legislation because the code presently requires the board to enact policy. Is the board doing a good job of enacting policy? That's a whole different discussion, right? But the code does call for the board to do that, so it would be a duplication over legislation in our opinion, but if we need to clearly outline that the board must or shall do it, then I don't have a problem making those concessions. 2:03:01 The other point was because something has not been reported doesn't mean it didn't happen. My mom is a, I'm a child of a 38 year public school educator and my mom has a lot of stories coming from my administration things that happened so because it's not reporting and i don't think that is a i could be wrong commissioner do you have a reporting system in place now um thank you senator i just want to actually agree with you first that i agree the fact that um not because something isn't reported mean it doesn't happen so matter of fact we are very sure that it continues to happen because it happened in the past on a silent basis with no data in our systems today and and we still continue to hear about corporal punishment here and there but okay where's the evidence you gotta we gotta have a community that speaks up against it so to answer your question we we've always had a reporting system and it's power school and we still continue to use that today it's supposed to be entered in power school once it's reported but of course it's not reported okay now I want to go to the the psychotherapist miss miss Nisha miss Dijon Charles is that the correct pronunciation yes thank you okay so there's a concept of decolonizing parenting and looking at you know corporal punishment as a byproduct of slavery Jim Crow state sanctioned violence and discrimination and what in your in your situation or your professional opinion is it intrinsic is it an intrinsic cultural tradition or do you see it as racial trauma because you find more corporate punishment within 2:03:39 in the african-american community um perfect question thank you so much um so if if i may direct your attention just rather quickly to what occurred on the border recently i think where we had some persons trying to into the contiguous us and there was some persons on horses and there were whips and readily the community acknowledged that that looked 2:05:45 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 13 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 very familiar and consistent with a period that we would clearly mark as slavery um times and so um it is definitely a byproduct of slavery i think um contextually my hope is that we can develop a depreciation for physical violence again you know west african communities um had greater values of kids and and in fact there was even some understandings that we must protect our hairs and and you know they were gifts from god in the heavens and there was just a deeper appreciation and i think certainly when we think about post-traumatic slavery i think that is one of the byproducts to the present day in fact i must i must also add when we think about the black man and we think about the black man as a monster and also to the stereotypical characterizations that go along with that i think it's really really important that we look at what's happening to the black community specifically the vulnerability of the black man and we must move as a community away from such harsh um behaviors to non-violent strategies to leverage um you know the black man is someone who can love right someone who give love show love and uh we can begin to appreciate greater that that character in person so definitely it's a byproduct of slavery and i think um there's significant um semblance as far as why the U.S. Virgin Islands and the public school system predominantly a black environment you know how that um characteristically looks very much like what's happening in the southern states in the continuous U.S. and I don't think that's a surprise by by any means thank you so much for that um that our response and and to to conclude because I'm sure my time is going to be called like back to you um miss miss nisha what have you seen as the outcomes of abuse and and corporal punishment um in your line of work i think um the short answer is it breeds further abuse so whenever i'm speaking with someone who steps into the office whether um they are you know as a result of being referred or whether they have been bullied or any of those sorts of circumstances you know when i think when the question is sort of asked you know it's it's clearly often the response is that that's in some verbiage has happened to me um even and i want to just go a little bit further i think we're talking only about corporal punishment and inflicting physical pain and i want to talk about sexual abuse right also inflicting physical pain and the research clearly documents and evidence that persons who have been sexually violated also continue to perpetuate that crime as well and so um yeah i think it's it's pretty apparent and i think the evidence is abundant in the regards for who abused people become in the community and especially when we're concerned about the heavy violence we're seeing in our community intimate partner violence especially consistent with the pandemic i think we have a slew of experiences in our recent media that we can look to um and i think we just want to be sure we don't ignore those things because it's characteristic of what's happening in the schools as well as in the home as the schools are microcosm of the larger community perfect perfect excellent 2:07:33 response and I think I think that's it I wanted to just highlight I heard the concerns and I could always work with the senator who had those slight amendations to the legislation but I just wanted to make it abundantly clear that we definitely have to to move the pendulum in a different direction and really increase our emotional intelligence years ago I'm sure corporate punishment was prevalent because that's how we knew how we knew was to take up a weapon and beat you and expect that that behaviors will change but corporate punishment is not taking away discipline you can still discipline without corporate punishment and the psychotherapist is so on point with the ways that how that can transpire into so many other aspects of that child's life and yield a non-productive outcome. So Madam Chair, thank you for the time colleagues. I'm asking for your support and the measures that move forward. Because when it was cutted from the legislation, we went back and we spent a considerable amount of time working on this corporate piece that it's now a lengthy bill that outlines what corporate punishment is and is not so I'm asking for your support I didn't come with a substandard legislation I never do and when we bring things forward is always well researched and not based on emotions and it we use the data we spoke to the professionals we did our homework so We were asking for your support in the affirmative when the time comes. Thank you Madam Chair. 2:09:20 Thank you. Senator James for your point of inquiry and then we will conclude. Thank you Madam Chair for the point of inquiry. I'm not a member of this committee so I don't have a say or a vote but I do support the measure. So what I'm about to say is no way speaking against the measure but my question to Commissioner of Education. Would this open up the Department of Education now to possible lawsuits and individuals using this as a reason to get rich and be able to sue the Brajans government for individuals taking part in corporate punishment for these children in public schools? 2:11:06 Thank you. Attorney Hudson. Good afternoon. Alvinson Hudson, legal counsel for the Department of Education. Thank you for the question, Senator James. Let me just, I will state this. The government as a whole, as well as the Department of Education specifically is in litigation or it gets sued from time to time. And what I will say is this, regardless if you have this bill here, if there's an instance where, like we've seen in the past, where a teacher has, or any other school-based official that has inflict harm upon a child, and that the·whether it's their family or anybody else·believes that there is a·that there's an actionable suit there, it's their right to do that. So, there's not really a difference here. But what this bill does do, it follows in line with what we're seeing across the nation and many other jurisdictions, where they're making a clear declaration that culpable punishment, as we have defined it here, is not acceptable, is not permissible. And so that's how they'll move forward. I think that also it should be mentioned, as you heard from Senator Fred Gregory, as well as I think 2:11:48 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 14 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 that Senator Potter mentioned this, this is something that is squarely within the, you know, the peer view of the Board of Education. I am shocked that they're not here, as they are the oversight body for the Department of Education, and that they have promulgated. My understanding is that they're reviewing their current discipline policy, which the board adheres to. So, in short, there is not going to be any type of seismic shift when it comes to lawsuits. That won't change, but it does make it very clear in terms of what is permissible and what's not. and then the department in the event that there is an employee that does not adhere to to the policy then we follow suit with what we're supposed to do in terms of the grievance process and administratively handle um handle that employee thank you for pleasing thank you for thank you for listening thank you madam chair thank you do i hear a motion yep your motion motion madam chair so no closing arguments no closing statements by the testifiers okay motion on him chair we have motion motion you may proceed thank you madam chair i move that bill number 34 0097 an act repealing and reenacting title 17 virgin islands code chapter 11 section 130 relating to authority to discipline pupils in schools and repealing title 17 virgin Islands Code chapter 9 sub chapter 1 section 87 relating to punishment of people's by school officials be favorably approved by this committee and forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for further consideration. I so move. Seconded by Senator Fred Gregory also by Senator Potter. Roll call for 2:13:12 bill number 34-0097. Senator Donna Fred Gregory. Senator Fred Gregory, yay. Senator Kenneth L. Gittins. Senator Kenneth L. Gittins, absent. Senator Carla J. Joseph. Yes. Senator Carla J. Joseph, yay. Senator Milton E. Potter. Senator Milton E. Potter, yay. Senator Janelle K. Saro. Senator Janelle K. Saro, yea. Senator Kurt A. Viala, yea. Senator Kurt A. Viala, yea. Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker, yea. Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker, yea. 2:15:07 Madam Chair, we have six yays, one absent. Bill 34-0097, an act repealing and reenacting Title 17, Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 11, Section 130 relating to the authority to discipline pupils in schools and repealing Title 17, Vergen's Code, Chapter 9, Sub-Chapter 1, Section 87, related to the punishment of pupils by schools, officials, has been favorably approved by this committee and will be forwarded to the Rules Committee for further consideration. Oh, also, Madam Clerk, would you please record the votes? 2:15:55 My apologies. You have six yays, one absent. Okay. Thank you. Okay, so now proceed with, and I would like to now proceed with having the either both testifiers, Commissioner Barry Benjamin and Ms. Nisha De Dejean Charles, close out with their closing testimonies. And sorry, as well as Ms. Christina Williams, the three testifiers will close out with their closing remarks. Starting with you, Ms. Charles. I truly appreciate for the opportunity to speak on this bill today. I just want to mention, And we must seek corporal punishment for what it is, it's abuse. 2:16:37 Child abuse is a public health problem that we must address together. It is time for cultural shift where we employ effective disciplinary strategies appropriate to a child's age and development, helping to teach emotional regulation, self-soothing and conflict resolution skills. By doing so, we will help teach children to regulate their own behavior, keep them safe from harm, enhance cognitive socio-emotional learning and executive functioning. We must also provide support and training to the educators to help improve classroom management and decrease negative engagement. It was a pleasure speaking today on behalf of this bill. And I hope the historical context also helps to depreciate the value of corporal punishment in the school system and the community at large at home. Thank you. 2:17:28 Thank you. Commissioner Berry Benjamin. Yes, thank you so much for the opportunity behalf of the vi department of education today truly is a historic day this is a great significant measure that we engaged in dialogue on as well as um the body this 34 legislature just voted on to move it to the next step um we work to create the safest environment for our students and i want I want to ask the community to embrace this measure, but most importantly, make a personal commitment to engaging in a mind shift. 2:18:15 We all have to do it. To include me. And at the VI Department of Education, rest assured that we will develop the necessary policy to follow this law and, of course, professional development and enforcement with every single VIDE employee, not just teachers. Thank you for the opportunity. And I'm trusting that this measure passes successfully. thank you commissioner and finally kristina lee you may proceed i would just like to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on something of such you know that is of such great importance to the children of the virgin islands and i'm happy to see how far it's come i know that we still have far to go but it's the first step in creating that change and helping the community to see you know that we can have a different mind step that can benefit the children of the virgin islands and that you know behavior that's done just because it was done before doesn't mean that we have to continue that type of um behavior so i'm just grateful to be able to be here and to um you know hear from all the other stakeholders because i'm a former student that actually you know went through receiving corporal punishment i know it wasn't reported and i also have a young child in the in the public school system so i'm happy to know that this is a step closer in something positive for the building thank you and this concludes um and this concludes the block one senator saru for 2:19:04 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 15 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 your point of personal personal privilege thank you ma'am just wanted to thank the testifiers for their testimony this afternoon um in support of legislation and just to add that this is also part of a holistic approach to addressing um our community we had a men in the women children families act we did the whole mental health component the early childhood detection and intervention um mandatory physicals for the incarcerated after 12 months um the postpartum support there were so many things in that bill too so we're not we didn't just only you know say corporate punishment should be prohibited but we were trying to provide on the front end the support needed for our students families women children um those who are in prison for various reasons so to to strengthen our our um the virgin islands we have to strengthen our families and our communities so madam chair thank you and testifiers thank you for um your your testimony today thank you thank you and i will pursue in the next block block two at this time i'll take a brief two-minute recess as we move to block two the committee on educational workforce development stands in for a two-minute recess. 2:20:52 Let's get started. We'll be right back. 2:22:33 Thank you. Let's go. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Let's go. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. Let's get started. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. 2:23:33 educational workforce development is out of recess at this time we'll entertain a motion before the public's edification the two bills on today's agenda were heard previously in an august 8th i believe august 4th committee on workforce development committee educational workforce development hearing and at the time a motion was made to table both pieces of legislation they weren't in the motion um table at the call of the chair was not included in the motion therefore the bills on today's agenda are there improperly for it to come back on the agenda it would have have to have a two-thirds vote for the legislation to come before the committee again, and that has not been done. So therefore the chair would at this time have two motions to remove the bill, both bills from today's agenda. I hope that explains to the public the process, Mason's rule of procedure that we are governed by. 2:46:33 Motion Senator Whitaker. Motion. I move that bill number 34-0091 be removed from today's agenda I so move can you can you withdraw your motion and restate the motion the correct way to read the legislation please motion to withdraw Motion to withdraw, let me, for the purpose of re-reading the bill's summary. Hold a second. I move to withdraw the motion. 2:47:50 Go ahead. Hold on. Hold on. Please move to withdraw. We're in the middle of a motion. I can't take a recess at this time. Motion, Senator. motion I motion to motion I motion to remove bill number 34-091 but act amending title you need to withdraw the the motion before and it needs to be seconded motion to withdraw my motion I so move motion has properly been moved and seconded by senators um fred gregory and patter motion motion senator edgar motion i move that bill number 34-0091 an act amending title 17 version of code chapter 5 section 41 related to the course of study in public schools to address gaps in education curriculum and workforce development by adding home economics equine studies information technology and by creating a reporting mechanism for the development and implementation for curriculum. I so move. 2:48:49 Properly moved by Senator Whitaker and seconded by Senator Potter. Hearing no objection so ordered. Motion. Motion Senator Whitaker. Motion. I move that bill Number 34-0094, an act amending Title 17, Virgin Islands Code, Chapter 3, Section 24-A-2, to establish and mandate stakeholder engagement and participation in the development of a report for the annual assessment and evaluation of all public school facilities, and adding subsection E to require stakeholders to hold town hall meetings on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. 2:50:05 John. I so move to be removed today's agenda. agenda I so move properly moved by Senator Whitaker and seconded by Senator Potter hearing no objections so ordered colleagues bills number 34 to 0 0 9 1 and bill number 34 to 0 0 9 4 have been removed from today's agenda at this time the committee will testify as you are excused from the teams and the committee will take a brief recess. 2:50:44 We'll be right back. The Committee on Educational Workforce Development is back out of recess, and I also want the public to also be clear because it's also important as we pass legislation that we make sure that we we want to follow all the procedures. I do want to put on the record that as part of the process of even the two agenda items that were removed from the record there was a outreach to the legal counsel's office but then just for clarification for the public's purpose when measures are voted on favorably there's a process in place so I do plan to bring back these measures again what I'm 2:51:46 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 16 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 seeking to do and this overall and offering them legislation is in one case to really to require for the bill number 34.0091 is to really require that we have the education stakeholders that's the Department of Education, the Board of Education and as well as the Career and Technical Education Board. I want to thank my stakeholders because before today's hearing and even in as we kept the legislation a number of meetings have taken place so that we do our diligence and I want to thank on the Department of Education for you know the meeting itself where we flesh out and we fleshed out and there are different amendments were made. I also appreciate the efforts of the legal counsel's office. So again, to the public, just for clear awareness, as the chair, I certainly do my very best to do the outreach. I also hold caucus meetings where we meet to come up with even the agenda items. So I do, going forward, so for our next hearing, we will have, by that time, more opportunities for all the stakeholders to get to review the amendments and to review the bills as we move next and finally the second part the other part is our school facilities as we know many of our school facilities are broken down it's really important that we have a real plan in place yes we have the law already title 70 section 24 which enables the board education to submit an annual plan to to the legislature, but as we can see over the generation, our schools' facilities continue to be broken down. And that comes also from a lack of stakeholder input, real assessments, engineers, technical persons being involved, so that we can definitely support the maintenance of our schools. We're going to move now on to, as we reorder the agenda, which is now going to be our new Block 2. And we'll proceed now. Clerk, Madam Clerk, if you can read the what is now block two into the agenda. 2:53:42 Block two. The committee will receive testimony from the Department of Labor on the status update on the unemployment insurance, lost wage assistance program, federal pandemic unemployment assistance program, summer employment payments. Invited testifier, Mr. Gary Molloy, Commissioner of Virgin Islands, Department of Labor. Okay, so we'll first have, double check, I'll stand for this one minute recess as we bring on the testifier, the testifier is on the, on her team. The committee stands in for a one minute recess. 2:55:32 Thank you. Thank you. The Committee on Education and Workforce Development, now back out of recess, we will proceed with the Department of Labor. 2:56:27 I wanna first have all the testifiers raise their right hand as I swear you in. Do you solemnly affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you will give to this committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to the best of your knowledge and belief? I do. Great. Thank you. Okay, so I see Acting Commissioner of Labor, Attorney Nisha Christian-Hendrickson, you may proceed with your testimony. Good afternoon, Honorable Senator Jennifer Whitaker, care woman on the Committee of Education for Cross-Development, other committee members and present of the 34th legislature, the viewing and listening audiences. I am Nisha Christian-Hendrickson, acting commissioner for the virgin islands department of labor here before you today on behalf of commissioner gary malloy who is unavailable to be here today i am present with assistant commissioner jean ford ui acting director gary halliard youth and apprenticeship director shenika sebastian territorial youth coordinator kevin dixon and workforce development director melita etienne thank you for inviting us to provide testimony regarding the impact of the unemployment insurance programs as well as to give an update on the summer league work experience our unemployment insurance programs and other covet 19 related programs continue to provide a safety net for individuals who have lost their jobs with the fault of their own over the last two years 2020 and 2021 approximately 191 million assistant commissioner your camera um your camera came off i'm sorry can you see me now yes thank you name it do you need to repeat any part of the testimony 2:57:36 that's fine i just wanted to see you as you're testifying okay my apologies our unemployment insurance programs and other covid related programs continue to provide a safety net for individuals who have lost their jobs with no fault of their own over the last two years 2020 and 2021 approximately 191 million 426 922 dollars in ui benefits have been paid to over 26 000 active claims under the regular unemployment insurance program fifty four million eight hundred fifty six thousand and sixty nine dollars was distributed in our extended benefits program two million five hundred ninety four thousand six hundred eighty seven dollars was paid during this pandemic period other programs were implemented to help individuals the coronavirus aid relief and economic support act also known as the cares act the continued assistance act also known as caa and the american rescue plan act also known as the arpa the lost wages assistance program was also implemented by fema by executive order all of these programs required individuals to be eligible in accordance of federal and local laws and other unemployment program letter of guidance as many are aware the consequences of the pandemic birthed several new programs to include pua peuc and fpuc the pua also known as the pandemic unemployment assistance program distributed over 25 million 159 530 dollars the pandemic emergency unemployment 2:59:40 compensation PEUC program distributed $19,882,019. The federal pandemic unemployment compensation program, also known as FPEUC, paid out $82,703,021. And under the executive order by the former president, the Lost Wages Assistance Program, ELWAP, had a grant of $7,323,000, which were provided, and the agency has distributed 3:01:29 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 17 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 $7,208,790 to persons who are eligible and certified applications. As of December 31, 2020, the ELWAP program has ended. Our agency was given permission to process the backlog of payments to eligible individuals by UP-LWAP by September 30th, 2021. The last payment totaling $1,074,300 was paid on September 3rd, 2021 to persons who were eligible and returned the required certifications before the December 31st, 2020 deadline. the lwap program provided an additional 300 for only six weeks between august and september of 2020. the program also requires certifications from individuals for eligibility please note to be eligible for lwap a person must have received at least a hundred dollars of ui weekly benefit amount as of september 4th 2021 all federal forward 19 emergency unemployment programs have ended this date represented the last week that an individual could have filed for a new plan to receive benefits for the pua fpuc and peuc programs and although the timeline has passed the u.s department of labor and the u.s treasury are allowing state areas including the virgin islands to work on the backlogs of weeks prior to september 4th 2021 state areas that have backlogs have until when march 31st 2022 to process the payments filed from february 20th to september 4th of 2021 many state areas are actively processing backlog currently we have 3 000 certifications that are in backlog we have hired and are continually hiring additional staff to process that backlog these backlogs are based on waiting for receipt of additional documents from claimants under the continued assistance act and the claims have been turned and some additional claims are backlogged because they've been turned over to the fraud and integrity 3:02:25 union for investigation for overpayment issues earned wages that have been discovered by by the payment of ui benefits for appeals our agency is committed and will continue to expedite payments to individuals who are eligible for these benefits to the september 4th 2021 sunset of the emergency pandemic assistance programs moving on now to the summer employment payments the 2021 summer youth work experience program concluded on september 30th 2021 serving 727 youth 370 youth in the St. Floyd District and 357 youth in the St. Thomas St. John District. 3:04:16 The 2021 SYWEP program structured included a five week work experience for in school and out of school youth ages 16 to 25 and an eight week internship program also known as LIFT Labor Investing for Tomorrow for qualifying juniors and seniors and a virtual career exposure program for youth ages 14 to 15. The summer concluded the closing ceremonies for all SWEP programs and a total investment in the youth through those programs was over $1 million. To date, 99% of the youth who participated in the five weeks work experience and 100% of the interns who participated in the eight-week internship program left were paid in full the payment is pending for participants with outstanding timesheets and the staff is working diligently with the participants to ensure they receive full payment the stipends for the youth who successfully completed the virtual career exploration are in process participating youth were required to complete a portfolio and giving additional time to the end of the program to submit their portfolio in order to be eligible for the stipend the delay in stipend payments to participating to participants was caused by a system upgrade that affected the performance of the software required to process the payment that issue has been resolved distributions for the payments have begun on october 19th and will continue vital has asked the participants to contact director Shinnika Sebastian on St. Thomas at 340-776-3700, extension 2018, or at her email address, shinnikasebastian at dol.vi.gov, and Territorial Youth Coordinator Kevin Dixon on St. Croix at 340-773-1994, extension 2202, or at his email at kevindixon.dol.vi.gov. 3:04:59 In closing, Vidal is commemorating Breast Cancer Awareness Fund, October 22, 2021. And as a reminder, to reduce the stigma around breast examinations and encourage Virgin Islanders to identify possible symptoms early to save lives. On behalf of the Vidal and Commissioner Malloy, I would like to thank our Vidal family and the Committee on Education Workforce for allowing the Virgin Islands Department of Labor to provide this testimony. Myself and my team are ready to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. 3:07:01 Okay. Thank you very much for your testimony. Acting Commissioner Christian Hendrickson, thank you very much. So now proceed, Senator Carla Joseph. You may proceed. We're going to do about a three-minute round of questioning. Thank you so much Senator Whittaker and a pleasant good afternoon to my colleagues and testifiers as well as the listening and viewing audience we meet once again twice in a week Acting Commissioner Ms. Hendrickson how are you doing Christian Hendrickson how you doing today? Quite well, thank you for asking. How are you? Good. I really appreciated your ending where you are commemorating and recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I want to begin my questioning with, first of all, beside all of that, to congratulate you and the team at the Department of Labor for the job that you did over the summer with providing employment opportunities for our young people i'm always excited to see when that happens kudos to all of you on that now my questions are involved now that the young people have completed your summer employment program what is next for them do you as a agency track them keep in touch with them is there any type of follow-up with our young people uh throughout their progress um thank you 3:07:35 for the question i'm going to allow our director of youth and apprenticeship ms shenathan sebastian um to answer the question more fully but i know that there is a lot of a movement in that area i know she would be very happy to give you 3:09:22 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 18 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 some direction but where we're going next dr sebastian good afternoon again um director sebastian uh yes good question senator this year we actually um were able to use our summer staff to follow up with our students at the end of summer and those that did not return to school we're keeping in contact with them to see what additional services we could provide them beautiful and do you have any numbers uh miss sebastian to represent of those who were not returning to school what exactly they are engaged in while they are experiencing some transition between school and work. I don't have that data, but I can definitely get it to you because we did track who actually received full-time employment based on the summer experience and then those that need assistance moving forward i would be very interested in getting that type of data because it tells us where as you know because you worked very much uh in this field for a very long time it tells us where our students uh interests are it tells us where we need to show up our opportunities uh for their training and employment and you as you know we have all of this money from the cdbg uh dr that can be utilized to show up some of the training opportunities that the Department of Labor presents. So that's one of the questions I would like to see answered as far as the quantitative data. Now, I wanted to touch briefly on the unemployment insurance programs. uh where are we as far as getting all of the beneficiaries of the persons who are who are beneficiaries for the unemployment insurance have all of them received their benefits who are eligible um thank you for the question senator uh we have not completed the payment of ball in the rituals currently there's about three thousand applications but wait one moment uh acting commissioner there's a feedback there's a feedback somehow and somewhere there's a little feedback start from the top once again for us please go ahead person machine yes yes you may proceed 3:10:20 you're muted you're muted can you hear me now yes okay currently we have not completed payments to all potential um beneficiaries however there's about a 3 000 person uh backlog we are working by having additional staff hired to be able to process that and we have been given until march 31st of 2022 to complete that but we're actively working on that and director gary hiler can add additional information if um he needs to provide some more clarity before he begins did you say 3 000 acting commissioner backlog 3 000 out of the 26 000 yes okay but we're actively working on paying out those individuals so it's not as though a lot of the claims are either people who need to bring back additional information to the department or unfortunately we do have some claims that are being investigated for fraud and so we need to be able to have some additional time to process those applications understood ELLIE WILSON- Mr. Haylard. 3:12:12 GARY HALLIER- Yes Gary Hallyer acting director. As the acting commissioner stated yes we do have approximately 3,000 and there's a 3,000 claimants. However in that backlog you're talking about running of approximately weeks that go for two weeks that we may owe an individual up to maybe 20 weeks of payments. And so that's why it takes some time in processing this backlog. Thank you so much. Madam Chair, if you would allow me, I wanted to ask just one more pressing question relative to unemployment insurance benefits. 3:13:31 That's fine, go ahead. You may proceed, Senator Joseph, go ahead. Thank you kindly. Now, I understood that we had some issues regarding the configuration of the system for the payout. Is that still a challenge with some of the federal unemployment insurance money that we receive from the federal government? Is that still an issue or has the Department of Labor now configure the systems that needs to be configured properly to accommodate the payouts good afternoon again thank you for the question uh acting commissioner christian hendrickson we have already established with our programmers the information and the software to be able to do that but of course as in any automation system sometimes you have to make tweaks or changes as um as we go down um but we have acquired the system and we have the contracts okay great thank you so much madam chair for the leeway i appreciate it thank you well seeing um most of my colleagues are out of the well here in st croix um they had flights to catch but i will proceed because today's agenda is really important as it pertains to unemployment as well as it pertains to our students through the youth experience so I will proceed with my questioning I just want to first off just to the you know the entire labor team I want to I just want to highlight before I even go into my questions I really appreciate what I'm seeing online just you know in terms of you coming out with the various webinars the what's what you all are putting out in terms of breaking down different different aspects when it would be workforce development element the you know and even this unemployment process from the very beginning as I engage Commissioner Malloy and you know majority of you about the process that we should really and I mean the unemployment information we know that there are different programs and what we find as constituents reach out to my office and my colleagues offices that there's still a lot of you know you can never continue to inform folks on what's the process for receiving benefits and and so I'm really using this as an opportunity to engage them to inform the public about the process and even as I would continue to work on and a member and also want to put out if 3:14:11 you're a member of the public you know constituent please do reach out to my office 712-2379 I can really say that the Department of Labor when I've sent a submitted names to them to work through the different issues that take place so I want to just kind of dive right in in terms of to the questions I'll first start off actually with the the checks these are the and this kind of this goes even to the point I've continued to emphasize about e-government so just to understand assistant 3:16:51 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. 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VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 19 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 commissioner christian hendrickson um we're still in the paper process for these checks for the for the student checks summer program checks and is there a vision to move away from that to move away from paper checks for the students thank you for the question acting commissioner christian hendrickson for the record um yes we are still in the process of having paper check right now but there's definitely a vision for us to be able to move to a more automated process of the future it just could not happen for this particular summer and this is all the summer students or just this just these because i know you had lift students and you had the students who are part of the regular summer program those are the lift students with the students who are in college and then the um the summer program that include the rest of the students um the process for payment is a paper process currently for all students but the vision is to include all students in the future to have a different process also can you please put on the record uh the and also as you saw every time you speak also be sure if anybody else um chimes in to make sure you put your title name and title on the the record as we proceed. For unemployment, we know that we had, for the federal pandemic employment assistance, there was a deadline. Where are you all now in the process of day-to-day, week-to-week? For those who actually met the deadline, where are we now and when can When can these individuals expect to receive those checks, those payments? Currently, we have about 3,000 persons, and this is, again, Acting Commissioner Christian Henderson for the Department of Labor. Currently, we have about 3,000 active claims that are in backlog. We are working through those, and the reason why some are in backlog is in part because of certifications not being turned in timely, in part because some of them have we are under investigation by fraud and some are in the appeal process. So there's three categories where we have hired additional staff at the very latest deadline will be March 31st of 2022 because that's what the date has been given by the U.S. Department of Labor for all agencies. But we're working on hiring additional staff to be able to process those payments as quickly as possible. 3:19:09 Okay, and the other item is concerning when we talk about unemployment, we have persons from off island and so one of the challenges the department continues to have when persons call, you know, they oftentimes don't get anyone. Where are you all now in terms of hiring, you know, hiring temporary staff to address that backlog? Again, thank you for the question, Senator Whitaker, Acting Commissioner Christian Henderson for the record we have hired approximately 13 people in the past we are working on a contract to hire an additional 10 individuals to be able to assist in the backlog we're hoping with that would be completed in the next two weeks but we're actively working on that contract to be able to hire those additional individuals and one of the also items I want to put out to the Department of Labor one of the concerns that has come to me directly from constituents as it pertains to the workforce development and number of those individuals are some of them are unemployed and they're seeking support because what it is is that is they're getting going through the training some of them of course being unemployed you know there's a struggle for support what is the department well how would the department work to assist individuals who begin a training program even one offered directly by the Department of labor to assist them with you know just basic assistance so that they can you know do the best and and you know perform as best as they can as students enrolled in um based in apprenticeship programs assistant commission acting commissioner appreciate hendrickson for the record um to make sure i understand your question you're asking what supportive services do we provide for persons who 3:19:59 in all training programs or specifically for apprenticeship programs for apprenticeship programs who may be unemployed i mean how does that work in terms of yeah any so for that for the apprenticeship uh question i'll ask um our director of youth and apprenticeship miss shinnika sebastian to see for the answer shinnika sebastian director of youth and apprenticeship for apprenticeship program we do we do have federal support that provides assistance in in in paying for the apprenticeship portion as well as supportive service for transportation and additional supportive services under WIOA. Okay because I have a number of constituents who are in that space and so as you all know already I'll be reaching out directly to you regarding a specific issue because they are right now you know basic things that they need are like they're you know they came to me explaining that it's very difficult to be in a training program and and not have you know just some basic needs covered so there may be some communications gaps there and what we find often is a lot of times management doesn't always meet with the persons who are part of programs and I would really encourage as you guys exercise your oversight over contractors that you ensure that they're doing you know doing right by our by our people you know and do the best that you can well that concludes my questioning I want to yield to senator joseph if you have anything else if not we pretty much wrap up on this block and i could add one other thing if you want to talk about overall programs could provide some more additional guidance or the other supportive services for some of the programs that we have thank you and then we'll have closing remarks senator joseph I did have some questions relative to some of the other program workforce development 3:21:52 programs that the Department of Labor is offering, and how are you actually interfacing with the other agencies to include the Department of Education, their adult education program, well as Department of Human Services with TANF. How are you interfacing and working with them to actually provide training opportunities as well as employment 3:23:45 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 20 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 opportunities to persons who are participating and enrolled in those programs? Good afternoon, Acting Commissioner Christian Hendrickson. I will defer to Director Etienne to be able to describe the relationship with our core partners good afternoon melita etienne director of workforce development services of the virginity department of labor thank you for your question senator joseph um as it relates to our core partners within the workforce innovation opportunity act our system here in the territory we actually meet um monthly beginnings did we restarted as of april um this year we meet with all of our core partners and oftentimes that discussion is one to talk about each of these things that we know what each other is doing within the system and then of course if there are any issues or concerns with regards to referrals or specific individuals the status of those referrals we normally talk through those things as well another key component to those meetings is talking about our service delivery as one one-stop system and what that needs to look like moving forward i don't know if everyone knows as of september we have a new partner within our workforce system equus workforce solutions who will be administering our adult and dislocated worker programs um we have the last two meetings really spent a lot of time introducing equus to the one-stop partners and bringing the one-stop partners actually to the table as we move forward uh beginning with the workforce summit to just basically bring everyone together um as we move forward we're going to be discussing service delivery and getting all of us again to do a unified effort as we go into our community as we know individuals normally have challenges beyond just training but supportive services that can be offered through those different programs so yes we actually have quite a bit of conversation and coordination happening between the one stuff system okay and i do have one follow-up questions and this as far as is applicable to our residents who may have English as a second language and those levels of barriers. How are we looking to overcome that barrier for those participants who are eligible to engage in your programs? Thank you very much for that question, Senator. English as a second language, as we know, is a big barrier and challenge for our programs. currently we are discussing finding additional vendors providers for that particular program i do know that adult education i think in st croix does have a esl course they have launched recently but we are continuing to look for more so you're not offering much training opportunities for that segment of our community both the french speaking creole speaking as well as the spanish speaking it's one of our identified opportunities across all of our training providers so when we look at the eligible training provider list certified by the board of course a lot of discussion has to happen around how do we serve our diverse population i know uvi cell has been actually down a path of really trying to find tools to support offering multiple languages for their courses but it is something that we do need to actually kind of get around the table to really look at a little deeper thank you so much thank you and so this time i will have assistant acting commissioner christian henderson close out with her closing statement thank you again for the 3:26:06 opportunity to present this testimony on behalf of the people of the virgin islands on the department labor i have to take this opportunity to again really truly thank the staff in both districts because the unemployment insurance process was a group effort i don't think anybody in the department didn't touch it at one time in terms of providing some kind of support and it really has made a difference in terms of what you're able to do to run the services we know we're not perfect we will continue to continue to strive for for additional excellence but we we have done and i do want to commend them for all the work they have done and of course i have to thank the youth team because the summer was a very exciting and engaging experience for all the students and the one million dollars that were invested was put to good use so thank you again we would like to again to state about first answers awareness and thank you for living thank you thank you very much and so that concludes the agenda for today's hearing at this time i would like to also close out in my own statements as i would close out today's hearing. It's really important that as a community we continue to work together. Today's agenda again as we close out with the Department of Labor concerning unemployment, giving us an update. 3:27:57 I want to continue to encourage the Department of Labor to reach out as you bring temporary staff to help really push forward with the application process. And I know for a fact as we continue to evolve into an e-government we're going to cut down a lot on the paper processes and um because it does account for a lot of mishaps um and and if we move in that way um so you're free to go um um testifiers thank you and i will at this time um if senator joseph you have anything and then i'll make my final statement so joseph did you want to do no i am really good okay thank you thank you so much thank you thank you everyone and so i want to also emphasize something that's really important as well the mason rules there's two emotions motion to table an item back on august 4th i did not move to table my agenda items indefinitely i moved to table them but as i emphasize as we communicated with Council it was important that we properly move the bills and the amendments and of course it requires a majority decision in order to move legislation forward but again I want to emphasize that I'm the motion was to table now as we understand as a members of public the and we go forward to our next hearing I will do my best to ensure that it's properly brought before the committee in support of my committee members I will also encourage the public as we go forward again you can get all the information for today's hearing on the legislature website go into the committee folder so you too can be informed and know the process by which information is being shared and so this time I want to just again thank everyone for the successes 3:29:27 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. 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VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 21 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 today especially thank my staff for the support on the media everyone and even the public as they give throughout hearings on feedback and so I very look forward to our next upcoming hearing which we have set for November 15th we of course that I announced that date it may change it's also as we address our school reopening crisis one of the things that we are seeking from the Department of Education is for them to give us a status on the reopening of schools consistently as I speak efforts are being made to address that and so and if of course and I also thank all of my stakeholders to and if you're interested in becoming a stakeholder with my office and with the committee work itself reach out to me at 712-2379 and I look forward to engaging with you. So this committee on education and workforce development is now it's adjourned for today. Thank you. Committee on education workforce development is adjourned. 3:31:28 People named in this transcript SUSPECTED, and a finding aid only. Names were matched by machine against the spellings used across all 426 of our transcripts, and the title is the one used in the room. Being named here is NOT evidence that a person attended or spoke · only that the name was said. Speech recognition mishears names, so a spelling may be wrong even where no alternative is offered. 15x Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker heard in this transcript as: Genevieve Whitaker, Whitaker, Whittaker 11x Senator Milton E. Potter heard in this transcript as: Potter 7x Commissioner Barry Benjamin heard in this transcript as: Berry Benjamin 7x Senator Janelle K. Saro heard in this transcript as: Saru 6x Senator Carla Joseph the surname alone also matches: Clifford Joseph; Karla J. Joseph heard in this transcript as: Carla J. Joseph, Joseph 5x Senator Fred Gregory the surname alone also matches: Donna A. Frett-Gregory; Donna Frett-Gregory 5x Senator Kurt Vialet heard in this transcript as: Kurt A. Viala, Kurt Aviale 4x Senator Kenneth L. Gittens heard in this transcript as: Gittins, Kenneth L. Gittins 4x Senator Marise C. James the surname alone also matches: Javan James; Giovanni James Sr heard in this transcript as: James 3x Commissioner Christian Hendrickson 3x Senator Donna A. Frett-Gregory heard in this transcript as: Donna Fred Gregory 3x Commissioner Gary Malloy the surname alone also matches: Ruben Malloy heard in this transcript as: Malloy 2x Senator Alma Francis-Heyliger heard in this transcript as: Alma Francis Heiliger 2x Senator Javan James heard in this transcript as: Javon James 2x Senator Samuel Carrion 2x Dr. Stefan Juergen 2x Senator Steven D. Payne Sr. heard in this transcript as: Payne, Steven D. Payne Sr 1x Senator Donna Frett-Gregory heard in this transcript as: Donna A. Frett-Gregory Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 22 of 23 Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | October 22, 2021 Bills and acts referred to Matched by number against our own acts corpus. The number is what the recognition heard, so it may be wrong; where it resolved, the title is the one the Legislature gave the act. Bill 34-0097 Act 8516 · November 18, 2021 · An Act repealing and reenacting title 17 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 11, section 130, relating to authority to discipline pupils in schools; and repealing title 17 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 9, subchapter I, section 87, relating to punishment of pupils by school officials Act 8516 Act 8516 · November 18, 2021 · An Act repealing and reenacting title 17 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 11, section 130, relating to authority to discipline pupils in schools; and repealing title 17 Virgin Islands Code, chapter 9, subchapter I, section 87, relating to punishment of pupils by school officials Referred to but not found in our acts corpus: Bill 34-0091, Bill 34-0094 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 23 of 23