State-level elected officials have vowed to make improving Alabama's public education a priority in 2023. However, specifics have not been forthcoming as of yet.

State Sen. David Sessions (R-Grand Bay) said he would like to see "discipline" return to the classroom.

During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," the Mobile County lawmaker argued the lack of discipline was an impediment to learning. He cited the difference between public and private school education to bolster his claim.

"I certainly agree that education is a key to bringing our public out of poverty," he said. "But you know, decency and respect go a long way with that, too. And I think that starts at home. What we're going to be looking at in the education legislative year – I don't know if you'll see voucher-type of legislation come back up or not. I feel like in Alabama, my personal goal is to let's keep pushing to fix or try to fix what we have."

"I believe we need to get back to some discipline," Sessions continued. "I think that is a huge problem in our education system. We just have an issue with discipline, and it's hard for children to learn when there's not some structure there, and you just let people do as they please, basically. That's not good for anyone. That, to me, would be one of the biggest hurdles we need to climb to help education – to get some kind of discipline back in our public education system because, basically, that's the biggest difference between private and public. The private sector has more rules, more discipline in their classroom, in their structure."

Jeff Poor is the executive editor of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.

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