Reagan Public School Policy Comes Under Fire in Debate

The need to pour money into the nation's public school system was the focus of a debate between two American education experts at the Law School yesterday.

Alfred S. Regnery, who heads the Reagan Administration's Office of Juvenile Prevention, and Columbia. South Carolina school commissioner Hayes Mizell presented opposing views of the problems of student violence and radical tensions in schools across the country.

Throughout the debate, which was part of a series sponsored by the Harvard Center for Criminal Justice and the Black Law Students Association. Regnery defended the president's highly publicized push for strong disciplinary action against disruptive students.

Criticisms

Mizell, founder of the National Coalition of Advocates for Students, presented civil rights criticisms of the Reagan position.

He denounced the recent report of the Administration's Council on Human Resources and its get-tough approach to a crime-ridden school system.

"The President is just plain wrong when he says that no new funds are needed to improve discipline in the schools." Mizell added.

He argued that "disruptive students" should receive special attention and should be enrolled in "special programs to teach them proper behavior in the classrooms."

But Regnery, who is actually best known in legal and political circles as a member of the Council on Human Resources, maintained that "We need discipline first." The government must take action to support teachers and principles in restoring a positive learning environment, he added.

Ills

In defending the Council's report. Regnery disagreed with Mizell's belief that money will cure the school system's many ills.

"What we are not doing is providing money," he said. "That's not the issue."

The report recommends establishing a National School Safety Center to desseminate information to teachers in all school districts about dealing with come and violence in the classroom.

Other recommendations include possible use of metal detectors in schools.

Harsh

Regnery said that these measures may balance the effect of the rise in legal action against teachers which has made educators wary of enforcing harsh discipline.

Mizell, predictably, took a different view of what the administration's efforts should be

"People who care about troubled youths should get involved," he said, adding. "The government should encourage and support these people to take a role."