POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Ripped papers and a mother's desperate tears for change flooded the room at Tuesday night's Powhatan County School Board meeting. Parents and students pleaded with the board to take more drastic measures toward fighting ongoing racism they say they've continued to witness in Powhatan schools. Turnout at a previous school board meeting in March was so large that the meeting had to move locations due to overcrowding. The turnout to that meeting was in response to an image that circulated among the student body showing a student with an alarming, racist threat written on her arm. Since then, Dion Allen said her son has continued to endure racially charged harassment. "A student walked up to my son and called him the 'N-word' and a 'cotton picker,'" Allen said during Tuesday's school board meeting. "The rules and discipline need to be harsher." Throughout Tuesday night's meeting, there were resounding calls for policy changes, enforcement and education, as well as change-based responses like restorative action rather than just suspension, something one school board member recognized can be less than impactful. "It's almost like a vacation," the school board member said about suspension. Most public commenters appeared to have left by the end of the meeting, which was when the board announced its plan to address these concerns. The above pyramid shows the tiers of "Leveled Responses" to student behavior -- essentially tiers of punishment. There's also a "Level 5," though it's not pictured. The board's proposed policy change would move using a discriminatory slur from a "Level 4" offense to a "Level 5" in secondary schools. This tier means a talk with the superintendent, which could result in a few different punitive repercussions like expulsion, alternative placement or long-term suspension. Board members addressed attendees at the end of the meeting. "We do hear you," Board member Susan Smith assured. "We do listen. This board member hears you. This board member is listening to you and having conversations all the time with our superintendent. We are working towards resolution." Prior to the proposed policy change announcement, multiple speakers said they wanted to see a mandatory curriculum implemented to educate students on topics related to diversity. Members of the public will have their chance to weigh in, now that the board has made this policy change recommendation public. School leaders said they encourage members of the community to provide their input and that the rule changes will be on the table for discussion at the next Powhatan County School Board meeting in June. Meanwhile, students like Yasmine Smith said they'll continue to get their education and fight for themselves. "I hope that there is change," Yasmine Smith said. "Not only for me, but for the other kids that get mentally broken every day."