Va. Board Members Rue Time Spent on Discipline Hearings

School board members in two suburban Virginia districts are spending so much time doling out punishments at expulsion hearings that they have asked the state legislature for relief.

Their complaints about the rising caseload prompted by mandatory-expulsion laws and a rise in student misbehavior have spurred a few state lawmakers to action.

Legislators from Fairfax and Prince William counties have introduced bills that would allow the superintendent or a committee of the school board to approve certain penalties. Under current state law, a majority of the school board must...