Inside Pasco County Schools, the administration is cracking down on student discipline.

Superintendent Kurt Browning wants parents to tell their kids to behave at school.

During a Tuesday night school board meeting, Browning said students not behaving are running a risk of increased penalties.

Those include expulsion recommendations for students who receive referrals for Level 3 "serious" offenses, such as attacking another student, having a weapon or sexual harassment.

He's even pushing for harsher penalties for Level 2 offenses like disruptive behavior or fighting.

Students who misbehave are often reassigned to virtual classrooms.

Last year, the district reported more than 60,000 referrals. Browning said they usually have about 40,000.

"Blame COVID if you want," he said to board members. “I will blame it on kids not being taught appropriate behavior before they come to our classrooms," Browning said.

"I want parents to be having tough conversations with their kids about what appropriate behavior is in public, and more importantly what appropriate behavior looks like in Pasco County Schools," he said.

Browning said a memo will go out to parents and students before the first day of school.

You can watch the discussion on school discipline in the video below. The topic begins at about 1:37.