♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is on assignment. on the "newshour" tonight, the clock ticks down for congressional leaders to strike a deal on the debt ceiling. we speak with house democratic leader hakeem jeffries about the ongoing negotiations. republican congressman george santos is arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering. and, lawmakers in multiple states push for harsher school discipline practices to address student misbehavior. >> forgotten, in this moment, in this post-covid reality or if you can call it that where our young people in our teachers are sitting at the front lines in these places of tension, that we actually have to promote and build those positive school climates. ♪

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working for solutions to protect water during climate change so supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ geoff: welcome to the "newshour." lawmakers are working on borrowed time , with the nation $31 trillion in debt, and potentially unable to pay its bills in a matter of weeks without congress raising that ceiling.

but the day after the president and key congressional leaders met for the first time to find a way forward, the two sides appear no closer to a deal. >> they are literally, not figuratively holding the economy , hostage by threatening to default on our nation's debt. geoff: president biden today calling out republican lawmakers as he makes the case for urgent action by congress to avoid a default on the nation's debt. >> a fully default on our debt, the whole world is in trouble. this is a manufactured crisis. geoff: the president took his message just north of new york city. >> republican congressman mike lowell is here as well. geoff: applying pressure to a vulnerable gop congressman from the region. the president's visit comes a day after he hosted top republican and democratic congressional leaders at the white house for talks aimed at breaking the impasse and avoiding an historic default, the treasury department warns could then weeks. but that meeting yielded little progress on an agreement.

the window for negotiating a deal is closing. treasury secretary janet yellen says the u.s. could run out of cash to meet its debt obligations as early as june 1, with a catastrophic impact on the global economy. democrats insist debates over future spending shouldn't be tied to paying old debts. >> all democrats are saying is, pay the bills. geoff: republicans argue the wo discussions are inseparable. >> it's not just the debt ceiling crisis. it's also the spending problem in washington that got us here. >> a negotiation has to occur. the consequence of not doing that is too severe. and let me tell you, when bad stuff hits the fan, everybody ends up getting dirty. geoff: democratic and republican leaders are set to meet again at the white house on friday. as the top democrat in the house of representatives, new york congressman hakeem jeffries, plays a key role in the debt ceiling negotiations. i spoke with him earlier. house democratic leader hakeem jeffries, welcome to the

"newshour." thanks so much for being with us. rep. jeffries: good evening. great to be with you. geoff: after yesterday's white house meeting, what's the path forward on raising the debt ceiling? house republicans and nearly every senate republican, 43 of them, say they won't vote to raise the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts. and democrats, of course, don't accept that premise. rep. jeffries: well, president biden, house and senate democrats continue to make clea but there's only one reasonable, acceptable, responsible path forward, which is to make sure that we avoid a dangerous default on our debt in a manner consistent with what has been done under democratic presidents and republican presidents for decades. it's unfortunate that many of the extreme maga republicans in the capitol have chosen to put the country in a hostage-taking situation and essentially say to us that either we must accept the default on america act with extreme cuts to medicaid that would impact disabled children and seniors extreme cuts to

, health care, extreme cuts to law enforcement, extreme cuts to food insecurity programs, as well as extreme cuts to education. accept the default on america act is their position. or else we will default. and that's just inherently unreasonable. i'm thankful that president biden convened us yesterday to have a conversation, house and senate, along with the administration, and will be bringing us back together on friday to see where's the common ground, where are the areas of disagreement and how can we bridge those gaps in order to make sure that we avoid a default. so we are an path, hopefully to resolving this issue sooner -- we are an path, hopefully to resolving this issue sooner rather than later. geoff: speaker mccarthy told reporters yesterday that he believes that the white house and congressional leaders need to arrive at a deal by next week in order to pass legislation that would raise the debt limit by early june. do you share that assessment? and is that timeline realistic?

rep. jeffries: well, i share the assessment that we need to resolve this issue sooner rather than later. even flirting with a default could trigger a job killing recession. it could crash the stock market that will hurt millions and millions of retirees across the country. it's also going to dramatically raise costs. and so hopefully on friday, the republican leadership will see fit to come together, sit down, have a reasonable discussion about finding common ground and take us out of this hostage situation. geoff: it appears the white house has ruled out a short-term increase of the debt ceiling while negotiations continue. is there a universe where this could happen on parallel tracks -- where the debt ceiling is raised and there is a separate agreement on spending cuts? both sides get what they want. both sides get to declare victory. rep. jeffries: well, president biden's position from the very beginning, which has also been the position of leader schumer,

senate and house democrats, is that we must avoid a default on our debt. but simultaneously, we are, of course, open and willing and ready and able to have a discussion about what future spending priorities, what future investment priorities, and what future revenue should look like to make sure that we're protecting the health, safety and economic well-being of the american people. jeff, that is something that we do here in congress every year. but we can't do it with a gun being held to the head of the american people by the extreme maga republicans here in the capitol threatening a dangerous default. and hopefully again on friday when we have this meeting, we can arrive at a path forward to do what is necessary to pay america's bills. geoff: a question about title 42. the u.s. is bracing for the expiration of that pandemic era border restriction. two of your democratic colleagues in border states, ruben gallego of arizona and vincent gonzalez of texas, say their communities don't have the resources and they don't have

the infrastructure they need to keep pace with an expected surge of migrants. president biden acknowledged the situation in his words, would be chaotic for a while. the question is why? why should this situation be chaotic when the administration has two years to prepare for it? rep. jeffries: we are facing an unprecedented surge of migrants from venezuela, cuba, from haiti, from the central american northern triangle, countries of guatemala, el salvador and honduras. and i think the administration has done all that it can with the resources that it has been provided. clearly, the administration needs more in order to fully establish order at the border and a pathway forward, a pathway forward that should involve making sure that our values as a nation of immigrants, as a compassionate nation, are also not violated. they're vindicated. congress should come together. earlier today, congresswoman linda sanchez introduced the u.s. citizenship act, which is a

comprehensive immigration reform bill anchored in common sense and compassion and consistent with our country's history as a nation anchored in the rule of law. that is the approach that we should take moving forward. unfortunately, what we see from the extreme back of republicans here in washington, d.c., is that they are trying to bring forth an immigration bill that will throw children out of the country, break up families and spend billions of dollars and or in the effort to construct a medieval border wall that is a failed policy of the former president of the united states of america, a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem. geoff: should president biden consider reinstating title 42, as even some democrats have suggested?

do you think? rep. jeffries: the public health emergency is over. but there are tools that will be available to the administration, as has been indicated with title 42 lapsing. title viii does provide some ability for the biden administration to manage the situation at the border. but we are going to have to provide the department of homeland security with additional resources so that it can do its job. and i urge my republican colleagues to join us in making sure that the department of homeland security has those resources so it can appropriately conduct itself along the border. geoff: this is your first time on the "newshour" in your capacity as house democratic leader. and i want to take the occasion to ask you one how you view your role and to what democrats hope to achieve even while in the minority right now. rep. jeffries: we want to continue to try to find common ground whenever and wherever possible with the other side of the aisle. that's what we've always been about. infrastructure investment. the jobs act was bipartisan. the chips and science act,

bipartisan. safer communities act, bipartisan. many of the things that we've done over the last several years have been bipartisan in nature. so we're going to continue to try to find common ground to make life better for everyday americans and build an economy from the middle out and the bottom up under the leadership of president biden. at the same time, we are going to push back against extremism whenever necessary, and unfortunately in the house of representatives, we see a lot of extremism on issues like reproductive freedom or gun safety in the illinois bill. the inability to do something on this issue or even on democracy. and we will continue to stand strong against that extremism. it's been an honor to serve the people of the eighth congressional district, to previously serve as chair of the house democratic caucus and a continuing honor to now serve in this position. and it is just consistent with america as a country, a government of the people by the people, and for the people. i emerge from a working-class

community in crown heights. i think that's the best of the american tradition of sending people to washington, d.c., who try our best to represent those individuals who are privileged to serve. geoff: house democratic leader hakeem jeffries. thanks for your time, sir. good to see you. rep. jeffries: thank you. ♪ geoff: other major news on capitol hill tonight focuses on new york congressman george santos. a federal grand jury has indicted the freshman republican lawmaker on 13 charges ranging from wire fraud to money laundering. santos was released on bond today from a new york court after pleading not guilty to the charges. >> i am going to fight my battle. i'm going to deliver. i'm going to fight the witch hunt. i'm going to take care of earing my name and i look forward to doing that. geoff: our correspondent lisa desjardins has been following the story. what you have here is multiple different schemes and falsehoods.

walk us through these charges. lisa: 13 federal charges, the largest, are on wire fraud. what the prosecutor said was fraud committed to donors representing that money was going to a campaign related because when it was going straight to his pocket. three counts on money-laundering. two counts of making false statements to the house of representatives having to do with his income and how he reported that. they say, falsely. and one count of theft of public funds. let's look at the indictment with theft of public funds. here is some of the language there, "for the period of march 2020 and april 2021, through that time period, based on false application and certifications, the defendant received approximately just $24,744 in unemployment insurance benefits ." what the claim is here by prosecutors is that while

he was running for congress, where he was employed by a financial firm, applied and received unemployment benefits through the covid relief programs. he said today that there is a misunderstanding and he will defend himself. as you've heard, he calls this a witchhunt. geoff: santos is notorious for fabricating large parts of his story. how unusual are these charges? lisa: it is not unusual to have a member of congress indicted, we have had several indicted in the past 10 years, however, something that stands out here is that it is not just for one crime, one campaign-finance scheme, these are different types of schemes, also noted by former federal prosecutors. we talked to one of them. >> what you have here is multiple different schemes and falsehoods that were all told by mr. santos and they are unrelated to each other.

and i think the problem for mr. santos is that the jury has to find that he didn't do any of these things. i think there is an additive effect. while the jury will consider each count individually, at the end of the day it all comes down to his credibility. not only will that be in question given all the allegations, but he has other substantial baggage he brings to the table that makes it very difficult. lisa: at the same time, there is also an ethics investigation underway in the house. this also tests a new doctrine in political theory, the trump doctrine, which is just deny, even if you have a history of falsehoods, combat and see what happens in court. we saw one example of what happened to mr. trump earlier this week, and we will see what happens to mr. santos going forward. geoff: so, santos has already relinquished his committee assignments, right? lisa: he has been forced off committees.

geoff: so what does this mean politically for him? lisa: i think we're going to have to watch. he has said he is running for reelection. in fact, he sort of quipped today that given the state of affairs in america, maybe he'll become a committee chairman. however, he is not popular in the republican party. no one defended him today at the capitol. some, including fellow new york representative mark molinero told our correspondent that he cannot wait for this man to be out of congress and out of elected office. now it takes 2/3 of the house representatives to expel a member. we don't think there's anywhere near that. there may be pressure for him to resign if he's convicted, but right now it looks like he's going to ride this out. and speaker mccarthy is saying he will let him stay in office. he's not gonna push him to be pushed out unless he is convicted. geoff: because mccarthy needs his vote. lisa: that is a very important point. yes. he just has a four vote margin there in the house and george santos was a key vote on that debt package that we're talking about. geoff: always good to see you.

lisa: good to see you. ♪ stephanie: i am stephanie sy with the newshour west. here is the latest headlines. u.s. inflation eased again in april but was still stubbornly high. the consumer price index was up 4.9% from a year earlier, the smallest annual increase in two years. the court rate of inflation, excluding volatile, food and energy costs, was up 5.5% from a year ago. officials along the southern border are bracing tonight for the end of title 42 tomorrow. the pandemic hero policy barred most -- pandemic-era policy barred most asylum-seekers. now, the biden administration says most migrants must first apply online or seek asylum in a country they passed through. the secretary of homeland security, alejandro mayorkas, also says 100 migration hubs are opening across the hemisphere. simsecco mayorkas these

are places where we file humanitarian as well as the security imperative to meet people where they are, to cut the smugglers out, and to provide them with a safe and orderly way to arrive in the united states if they qualify for relief. stephanie: under the new policy, those who enter the u.s. illegally must wait five years before returning, or face criminal prosecution. israel traded heavy fire with palestinian militants in gaza for a second day despite egypt's attempt to mediate the ceasefire. palestinian fighters launched hundreds of rockets at israel. some flu as far as tel aviv, but midair explosions indicated most were intercepted. that came as israeli air strikes hit and islamic jihad leader. palestinian officials said 21 people have been killed. in pakistan, the government has called in troops to bring an end to violent unrest. on tuesday, supporters of former

prime minister imran khan stormed official buildings after his arrest on corruption charges. at least six people were killed. today, local tv showed aadio station burning in peshawar. police said protesters torched it while employees were trapped inside. officials blamed the violence on jhan, a former cricket star. >> as a sportsman, he ought to be championing sportsman's spirit. tolerance and respecting rule of law. but instead he has chosen a path of spreading anarchy, chaos, and destruction in the country. stephanie: a judge ruled today that khan can be held for another eight days for questioning. back in this country, a texas judge sentenced army sergeant daniel perry to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting an armed man during a black lives matter protest. it happened in austin back in 2020.

republican governor greg abbott has already said he wants to pardon perry. senator dianne feinstein has returned to washington after more than two months on medical leave. the california democrat arrived at the capitol today in a wheelchair. in a statement, the senator said she's suffering after effects of shingles and will work a lighter schedule. some progressives had urged feinstein to resign, saying her absence blocked confirmation of federal judges on wall street. -- blocked confirmation of federal judges. and the westminster kennel club dog show has crowned its best in show for 2023. a p-b-g-v named "buddy holly" took home the title last night. it was a first for the rabbit-hunting breed. in all, some dogs from 210 2500 breeds and varieties competed. still to come on the "newshour," the chair of the chicago federal reserve discusses inflation and the nation's economic uncertainty. sri lanka struggles to recover a year after the economic and

political collapse of the country. a father and son reporting team wins a prestigious pulitr prize. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour pop," from wta studios in washington and in the west, from arizona school of journalism. geoff: as we reported, inflation is easing, but still high. the federal reserve has been laser-focused on bringing down prices, raising interest rates 10 times in the last 14 months. but economic uncertainties remain, including the consequences of much higher interest rates, a debt limit standoff and recent bank collapses. to discuss the challenges ahead, we are joined by austan goolsbee, president of the federal reserve bank of chicago. thank you for being here. austan: thanks for having me. geoff: inflation slowed for a

10th straight month in april, according to the consumer price index. that is great news for families who have been struggling with higher costs. but inflation remains too elevated. what indicators do you and other fed policy makers need to see to know that we're finally breaking the back of inflation. austan: you described it exactly right inflation was way, way too high, it is still too high, but it is at least coming down and so that part is encouraging. mostly when the fed looks at prices and inflation, they don't look at this looking backward for a year, which is what the number is usually quoted as. usually we are looking at the monthly inflation, what is the new information, and we are tending to not look at food and energy prices because they are so volatile. and by those measures of core prices, we have seen progress. but it still shows that

inflation is too high and we're just trying to balance out the dual mandate, that is the law gives the fed two jobs -- maximize employment and stabilize prices. employment has been going very well, that is the strongest part of the economy. inflation hasn't been going as well, let's call it the weakest part of the economy. i think we just have to keep getting more price information across these categories before we can say with comfort that we are on a path back to normal. geoff: can i draw you out on the federal reserve's dual mandates, maintain maximum employment and keep prices stable -- can the fed keep prices stable without tilting the economy into a recession? austan: we certainly hope so. that is the goal. the complication with that is we all know that it takes time for the monetary policy choices like the 10 interest-rate increases you described over the last

year, five full percentage points in the interest rate -- it takes time for that to work its way to the economy. in a way, it's like having a conversation with somebody in asia where there is a little bit of a delay. it is sometimes hard to have a conversation like that. you don't want to land the plane nose-down. so we are trying to balance off, can we slow the inflation without sending it into a recession? we've had some promising indicators on that on that front. but it's it's always a possibility when you're in a rate-raising environment like this and you've had bank stresses like the ones we've seen with silicon valley bank and others and you add on top of it wild cards like fights about the debt ceiling and stuff like that, you cannot rule out that recession is possibility. geoff: you were chairman of

then-president obama's council of economic advisers back in 2011 when just the mere notion of brinkmanship led to the us having its credit rating downgraded. what do you see at the impact of this kind debt limit standoff or a potential default in this economy where we are still recovering from the pandemic? austan: yikes. you are giving me indigestion. [laughs] to think back to what that was like. let's hope we don't get into that environment. we've got to raise the debt ceiling. how congress is gonna sort that out, the two parties will have their negotiations or legal strategies -- i don't know. if you look back at times when we encountered these crises, there was in 2011 a dramatic drop in consumer confidence. you could see interest-rate spikes. i guess i still can't get past what is going to happen. are we not going to pay the

military, not going to pay social security? we are going to add on top of the already financial stresses about paying capital that the safest asset in the world, treasuries, is somehow going to be questioned? the value of treasuries? that we might default? i just don't think it makes sense. if you look through the actual practical details of how it would affect the economy, there is nothing good about it. it would be really bad for the economy. i am just hopeful we don't get to that. geoff: i want to ask you about how the fed navigates raising interest rates, because you in a speech last month, said the central bank should proceed cautiously with any additional interest rate increases. he said at moments like this, the right monetary approach calls for prudence and patience and you've voted with all of the

fed policymakers this month to raise rates by a quarter point. why was that the right approach? austan: the second sentence in the speech i gave before the meeting was "the most important thing is to gather as much data as you can because we are in an environment where the tightening in the bank sector and the credit squeeze that takes place when banks are trying to conserve their capital and trying to raise lending standards, that does a lot of the work that monetary policy would normally do in a moment like this when inflation is high . so it is totally appropriate to watch the conditions, to figure out how much of your work has already been done for you. in this last meeting, i felt that if you looked at conditions, you had yet to see that the credit tightening, the credit crunch was not on the minds of people yet, and so the two meetings ago, we had

outlined a plan taking somewhat into account that credit was going to be tightening. it made sense to stay on that plan. i think now we are starting to get more information that the credit squeeze is beginning, so let's be on alert and be prudent and patient in our decisions. geoff: prudence and patience. austan goolsbee is the president of the federal reserve bank of chicago. thanks for being with us. austan: great to see you. ♪ geoff: the pandemic and global economic slowdown have increased pressure on developing economies. the number of countries that risk has doubled in the last eight years, mostly in the global south. the international monetary fund reports more than 50 countries, from egypt to el salvador to pakistan, are in debt distress. sri lanka defaulted on its debt last year. and recently secured a $3 billion dollar bailout from the

imf. our correspondent traveled to the island nation of 23 million people off the southeast coast of india to see how the country is faring. ♪ reporter: before any reading, writing or arithmetic, staff at this school near sri lanka's capital, colombo, have added a new ritual to the morning routine for many of these students. [chanting] >> we have seen children faint and fall in the morning assembly wednesday, without having a good, nuitious meal. we observed that they are not in a position to study. reporter: i asked principal thushara pathirana to query these students about what they'd eaten before coming to school . a number in this group had not eaten anything. most of the school's parents are day laborers who make money only when they work, those hardest hit by the pandemic and sri lanka's crippling economic crisis.

this school is fortunate to have a midday meal program three times a week. parents volunteer to prepare them. for some students, it is all they will eat. >> we have never seen this level of malnutrition, hunger, food insecurity, information and reporter: colombo-based researcher and activist iromi perera says that's even taking into account a decades-long civil war that ended in 2009 and the 2004 tsunami that killed more than 35,000 sri lankans. >> up until covid, these were communities who were able to fend for themselves. they were able to make ends meet , send their kids to school and build their houses incrementally over time. reporter: despite natural and manmade disasters, sri lanka has made significant progress in recent decades in reducing poverty and improving people's lives, the so-called "social

indicators." education and health care are free to all citizens. and in 2019, the world bank upgraded sri lanka's status to upper middle income country. almost immediately after that, things began to unravel. an easter sunday terrorist attack on hotels and churches killed 261 people dealing a blow , to the island nation's critical tourism industry -- then the pandemic, which completely shuttered it. meanwhile, the bills started coming due in what analyst dhananath fernando calls the man-made crises, merely a credit fueled infrastructure building binge. >> we had been borrowing money at very high interest rates, at short maturity, in dollar terms, and investing in nonrevenue-generating projects. reporter: among them, a new

airport in 2013 in the hometown of the country's then-president mahinda rajapaksa. it sits largely empty. in colombo, a development called "port city" was to be a thriving financial hub, part of china's belt and road trade initiative. 12 years after construction began, it sits virtually deserted. and the capital's newest landmark, the $113-million dollar "lotus tower," also financed by china, was supposed to represent flourishing growth. today, it serves mostly as a reminder of the ousted rajapakasa family's ties to beijing and of endemic corruptionsays fernando. >> everyone in the political structure was getting benefited. the debt snowballed, because i borrow 100 rupees at 5% interest rate, and then i invest, i put money on something and that doesn't generate a cent. and then i have to pay 105 rupees on the next term. reporter: it all came crashing down last year -- the government

defaulted on its debt. food, medicine and fuel prices soared amidst widespread shortages, pushing thousands of people into the streets and eventually into the halls of power. president gotabaya rajapaksa fled the country. he and his brother mahinda rajapaksa had dominated sri lankan politics for 20 years. >> it was kind of a ponzi scheme. reporter: a ponzi scheme. >> a ponzi scheme is you borrow externally and to repay that, again you borrow. reporter: nandalal weerasinghe was recruited to return from a consulting career in australia-and take over sri lanka's central bank. >> i had a real good understanding of what triggered the crisis in the previous two to three years, and also an understanding of what needs to be done. reporter: after china, sri lanka's largest bilateral lender, agreed to restructure part of its debt, the international monetary fund agreed to a $2.9 billion dollar bailout loan -- with conditions.

>> curtail government expenditure, reallocate whatever resources for essential things. reporter: the government has already raised income taxes and the cost of electricity, and more severe reforms are set to soon take effect under the imf agreement including anti-corruption laws. iromi perera says the consequences will be harshest on sri lanka's poorest citizens, people who, until recently, harbored middle class aspirations. she took us to meet maxcy jency, a mother of two young boys, who lives with her husband in a tidy apartment, built as part of a salaam rehabilitation program. >> the inside story is different to what you see. reporter: the inside story is that they are broke, she says, since daily wage work is not steady. their home loan and utility bills are months overdue. she showed me the bare cupboard

in her kitchen, completely out of the bare essential -- race. -- the bare essential, rice. on many days, she makes sure her boys have food. >> i serve for them and if there is something leftover, i eat. if not, i sleep. i drink tea and sleep. [laughs] reporter: like many parents, they hope for a better future for their sons. they have indulged their older son's passion for the country's most popular sport, investing in ar and tuition for a cricket academy. someday i will get your autograph, ok. >> if we give them a good education, they will not suffer like us. reporter: social activist perera worries about spiraling despair among so many families like this one. >> you can't pawn jewelry every month. you can sell an asset every month. that is the reality of the people that you know, the everyday person that you see on

the street. reporter: including by one report, some 1500 doctors in the last year left the country. they also feel the economic pinch. >> we never had to think twice about grocery shopping. but now, we have to think twice. >> every month there is at least one doctor leaving the hospital from e.g. let. reporter: to go abroad? >> yes, to go abroad. reporter: they, too, have been recruited for jobs in britain, a ticket to financial security. they chose to stay. >> it is running away from the problem, it's not going to solve anything. >> we were schooling during the civil war and we survived somehow. so i think we will do the same. reporter: sri lankans will be counted on the type of resilience for the tough times

ahead, hoping for a turnaround in the economy, and watched by dozens of other countries facing similar, crippling debt. for the pbs newshour, this is fred de sam lazaro in colombo, sri lanka. geoff: fred's reporting is a partnership with the under-told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. as we near the end of another school year, administrators and teachers say they are concerned about ongoing problems with student behavior -- conduct that can be more disruptive than before the pandemic started. in a moment, amna nawaz will have a conversation she recorded earlier about state proposals to deal with that. but let's start with what we heard from teachers across the country. >> my name is joanna rizzotto, and i'm a high school alternative education teacher. i used to say i used to worry about just a few kids. now there's the opposite. it's probably just a few kids that i'm not worried about. >> i'm krista negro, and i'm a kindergarten teacher in las vegas, nevada. i'm seeing things like students attacking other students or throwing furniture at other students.

and one instance, i had a udent open up a pair of scissors that she took off my desk and threw them at my face. >> my name is dr. precious symonette and i am a proud, creative writing teacher at miami norland senior high school . many students are overwhelmed. they are going through a lot of different things. and unfortunately, many schools are not built to address those things. >> my name is jen heiter and i am the english department chairperson and senior english teacher for bremen high school in bremen, indiana. what we've seen here at bremen high school, and i believe around the country, is an extreme uptick in mental health issues with our students. we are seeing that many students more fearful, more wary of putting themselves out there, more anxious in general. and that anxiety can present itself in a number of different ways. it can look like unchecked anger. it can look like isolation. >> the last couple of years have

been very interesting. we've definitely seen a spike in behaviors. it could be anywhere from hitting, biting, spitting, throwing furniture. and so at times it's a little unsafe in the classroom. >> many students may not be willing to dig a little deeper and kind of explore what they may be feeling right. so it is easier to do something in the classroom to get kicked out, right? that way i getting what i want. am i don't have to deal with that teacher. i don't have to deal with what what i'm working through. so let me get kicked out. let me let me let me leave this, please. right. but i do feel like the better option would be to get them to stay. >> what we are not equipped to do is to identify students' needs when they have mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and other things that normally do hit in the high school and middle school ages. >> it's a shame, because we are there to educate the future of america. that's what we want to do. and we're having a really hard

time doing it with the behaviors at are presenting themselves. >> i would suggest that our legislators respond to this by putting more money into training teachers. and i would ask the question, are we responsible for our students mental health? if so, and if we're the ones who need to respond to it, then we need to be trained adequately to respond well, because a lot is hanging in the balance here. amna: in response to concerns about students, behavioral issues, including some violence, a number of states are now moving to change their laws, putting forward bills that empower teachers with greater disciplinary powers. that has raised more questions and concerns about the impact on students. julia gonzalez tracks all of this closely. she's a professor at the uc college of the law in san francisco. professor gonzalez, welcome and thanks for joining us. you have been tracking, lawmakers in a number of states

are now moving forward, proposing bills that make it easier to discipline students and remove students, including harsher penalties for younger kids. before we get into the details of some of those bills, why are we seeing so many of those bills right now? what's the argument behind them? dr. gonzalez: i think the argument is exactly what you're hearing from the teachers right, which is about safety. the problem is that the argument isn't matching safety with healthy school communities. we have spent so much time moving past punishment and really thinking about what is in the best interests of educating our children. and we have forgotten in this moment, in this pre-covid reality you can call it that, where our teachers are sitting at the front lines in these places of tension, that we actually have to promote and build those positive school climates, so it's much easier to go for the tool that was in existence before and say, just get out, right. we heard that as well. teachers saying it is much easier to just leave the cap -- the classroom. it is all of that. it is the unwillingness to put

money. it is a very short-term measure and it is not thinking about how we are actually building safe and healthy schools. amna: let me give you some specific examples here so that folks know what we're talking about. in arizona, for example, there's a bill that would lower the age students can be suspended to5 so that now includes kindergartners. in florida teachers would have , more authority to remove students who they deem disobedient or disrespectful. in nebraska, teachers would be allowed to use force in the classroom to physically restrain students who they deem disruptive. on the spectrum of responses, are there disciplinary powers i think teachers should have, and that they shouldn't? guest: absolutely. and i keep using those words together because those actually are essential components of what we're talking about. what teachers shouldn't receive be forced to do is to make these discretionary decisions in the moment that say you are disobedient, you are

disrespectful, you engaged in disorderly conduct. because so often those are coded for other types of behaviors. so the north carolina law, for example, that also exists includes inappropriate language and dress code violations. dress code violations and inappropriate language aren't the things that aren't keeping our schools safe or aren't making teachers feel like they can't teach students. and children feeling like they can't be engaged in learning. so it's about a continuum of support, right? how are we thinking about multi-tiered interventions? what is it to turn to the evidence and say, where does positive behavioral interventions exist? where do restorative practices exist? how do we put it into practice what we know works to ensure that the social emotional and academic learning is happening? what the amna: about the impact on students here? we know that given history and studies that black and brown students disproportionately face disciplinary measures when they're in school. what are you worried about the impact of this could be?

guest: i am just worried that the data has already been so disturbing. we know that nonwhite students and particularly black children, are disciplined more severely across every category. just this year, scientific american released a study that half of the 250 kids expelled from preschool, younger than age five, four black boys. nationally preschool children , are suspended more than once. and who are those children? those are black kids. we have to have a real clarity that these offenses and the ways in which we are then pushing young people out of their schools, lead to a whole set of lifelong consequences. so it's not just oh, the disparities exist. the discipline gap exists, and ultimately, a student decides not to come to school, stop engaging in the classroom. the risk factor of missing 15 days of school suspension means you are 7x more likely to drop out. that means you will have less access to jobs, housing,

participating in society, voting, even your li expectancy. and then of course, there so much evidence about entry into the juvenile adult systems. rice university's education research consortium just released data that for every suspension a student faces, they are 7.5% more likely to contact the juvenile justice system. who those young people are -- black students, latino students, native and indigenous students, as well. i also want to bring attention to the fact that it's not just in the context of race or in the context of gender, but students who are also experiencing learning disabilities, right. historical data to current data shows us across all categories of discipline -- suspensions, expulsions, referrals to law enforcement, students with disabilities can lose as much as 3x as much instructional time from discipline. that is most acute for our black students in particular. amna: there i asked, what is the answer here? i mean, teachers need a way to be able to control and keep safe classrooms. we know students have behavioral

issues after what they have endured the last few years. budgets are finite. what can people do? guest: we look to exactly what we have been doing so far. . there have been incredible investments in the last decade in our whole child and multi tiered systems of support. that's the academic. that is the behavioral. that is the social. that is the evidence based, trauma-informed, high-quality curriculum. so what does that mean? positive behavioral interventions have long standing records of having positive outcomes. social emotional learning. all in legislation. instead of the law we are talking about, we should be coupling those with investments in mental health services, because when you have multitiered investment in education, you flip the script. you increase graduation rates right. you increase academic achievement, increase test scores, increase grade completion. you engage students. there are less truants. they are coming to school, and

to have positive climates. that is when children thrive, and they can learn. amna: alright, that is thalia gonzalez, professor at the college of the law in san francisco. joining us tonight, professor. thank you. guest: thank you so much, i appreciate it. ♪ geoff: this week's pulitzer prizes included recognitions for major news organizations. but as william brangham reports, one local news organization in alabama also received multiple prizes yesterday, including a father-son dup. william: a team of reporters from al.com revealed how the police force in the small alabama town of brookside used aggressive policing and made up charges to extract fines out of people, including many poor residents, in order to jack up the town's revenues. the multiparty investigation by four journalists led to the dismissal of multiple cases, the removal of several police officers, including the chief,

changes to state laws, and even a warning to officials nationwide by the department of justice to avoid doing exactly what this police force did. joining me now are two of the reporters who worked on this prize winning investigation, john archibald and his son, ramsey archibald. gentlemen, thank you so much for being here. gratulation's to you both. john, to start with you again, tremendous congratulations. i should say, this is your second pulitzer prize. can i just get your reaction to this wonderful news? guest: it is the most fantastic thing in the world to me, and in the history of my 37 years in the business now. the story was impactful and did what we set out to do. but the fact that you get to do it with your kid is the greatest thing in the world. william: i bet that is. ramsey, what was that like for you? guest: i mean, working with not only my dad, but the team that we had was amazing.

everyone on this team prior to this had already won a pulitzer prize outside of me. so, you know, great company to be in, obviously, and to go through this again. we are in separate series right now, but to be able to win this with my dad, i am just speechless. william: i mean, for people who don't know this, ramsey, i mean, your dad is, as you well know, is kind of a big deal in alabama. he's really one of the best-known reporters and columnists there. what is that like going into the newsroom every day? like, did he did he pile on extra work so as not to seem like he was favoring you or did he cut some slack? what was that like? guest: oh, he made it clear that he was not going to favor mete ekin anywhere in the newsroom, and i wouldn't have wanted that either. but it is true, i mean, before i had started working at that website we would as a child, we , would be walking to the grocery store and people would

recognize him from having his face on the cover of the newspaper three times a week. and so i was very aware of who he was outside of my family my whole life which is sort of , intimidating in some ways, but it's also pretty cool. william: and john, how about you when when when ramsay says to you, dad, i'm thinking about this journalism thing. i see it's worked out pretty great for you. you seem to like it. what was your advice to him? guest: [laughs] to be honest, i don't think i gave him much advice and then, it's a tough business to be in. it was tough when the when the industry was, you know, in the so-called golden age of journalism. but it's so important now. it's just so much more important for the young, creative, smart, honest kids to go into this business and usher us into the future, whatever that looks like . i am just glad i have a kid that, you know, meets all that. all those qualifications. so i don't want to influence in him in any way, in terms of what he should do. you should do what he wants to

do and it makes him happy. and it seems to be doing that. william: john, you mentioned some of this at the beginning, that your investigation triggered a lot of changes at the local level. the doj even sort of reached out to officials nationwide saying , don't do these kinds of things. how gratifying is that clear? a lot of times we do in journalism a lot of work, and it seems like people don't respond . here, you really did effect some changes. that has got to be incredibly gratifying, too. guest: it is super gratifying in this particular environment. and especially in a place like alabama where we have a super majority of one party and to say -- to see legislators across the aisles to recognize that this was bad, to say that the four pieces of legislation that came out of this limiting how fines and fees can be used, it was great in the fact that we sort of were able to make people understand, find it, and it was a big deal. but when people, large numbers

of people began to have charges dropped and to sort of get a new lease on life, they came to us and said --, "thank you because i got my life back." that is better than any stories about corruption or sleazy public officials we've ever done. people getting a second chance. it's like mining. william: ramsey, i see you nodding there. must be a tremendous feeling to have that kind of an impact. guest: oh, absolutely. it's great to win this award, to be recognized for the work that we've done. but we would have been so part of this work if it won nothing, just because of the effects that it had not only on the legislature and across the state, but for the actual people here, which i think often gets sort of swept under the rug or lost in these sorts of stories. so to me, i mean, you couldn't ask for anything better than that.

william: we are talking to you in two separate cities, so i take it you two have not seen each other since the actual award has been announced. do you guys have a celebration planned when you finally get back together? guest: it is terrible that you ask about a celebration planned for me and my kid, though i guarantee you some tequila shots will be involved. [laughter] guest: it is a tradition. william: a key part of the journalistic tradition. john archibald, ramsey archibald, congratulations to you both from al.com. thank you so much. guest: thank you. guest: thank you. geoff: geoff: and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. thanks for spending part of your evening with us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour. >> qnod is a proud supporter of

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