While research shows that exclusionary discipline practices in the early years are ineffective and developmentally inappropriate, young children continue to be suspended and expelled at high rates. An increasing number of states have taken steps to ensure that young children are not removed from programs due to their behavior. This report explores…

Among the most critical pre-pandemic inequities that have not received sufficient attention is the fact that many districts are not meeting their legal and moral obligation to educate students with disabilities, which must include providing needed mental health services, behavioral supports and educationally sound interventions by well qualified…

Among the most critical pre-pandemic inequities that have not received sufficient attention is the fact that many districts are not meeting their legal and moral obligation to educate students with disabilities, which must include providing needed mental health services, behavioral supports and educationally sound interventions by well qualified…

The 2022 Legislature directed the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to create an advisory workgroup with specific participants to report back on topics related to student isolation and seclusion. This legislative report provides a background on the workgroup, history of isolation and restraint, current practices in the state of…

Research shows that students who experience discipline that removes them from the classroom are more likely to repeat a grade, drop out of school, and become involved in the juvenile justice system. This can result in decreased earning potential and added costs to society (lost tax revenue and incarceration). The Government Accountability Office…

The article critiques interpretations purporting to distinguish between serious emotional disturbance (SED) and social maladjustment (which is excluded from the federal SED definition). An interpretation of social maladjustment based on social deviance is proposed to more clearly determine eligibility for services under provisions for the…

The article addresses the exclusion of social maladjustment from the federal definition of serious emotional disturbance and proposes a limited interpretation which would prevent the inappropriate exclusion of students with antisocial behavior from special education services. Briefly discussed are related issues of identification and programing.…

For many students in the 1990s, school is no longer a safe environment in which they feel free to learn. This brief is intended to dispel myths about peer sexual harassment and clarify the new realities of the phenomenon in schools. The brief also conveys the message that school administrators have a duty to foster a school environment based on…

This booklet presents a revision of the American Council on Education policy statement regarding sexual harassment in light of legal developments that have occurred since the original publication of the statement in December 1986. Among the changes in the statement is the inclusion of a non-exhaustive list of conduct which has great potential to…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that investigated the incidence and impact of serious student misconduct on schools, whether students with disabilities are being disciplined differently from those without disabilities, and the role that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997 (IDEA) plays in schools' ability to properly…

This 23rd annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997 (IDEA) discusses the progress of students with disabilities. It includes a number of modules reporting on the results of the National Assessment. Section 1 includes five modules that present statereported data on high school gradation…

This paper is part of a collection of 54 papers from the 48th annual conference of the Education Law Association held in November 2002. It addresses the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Specifically, the paper examines unilateral placements for drug-abusing and delinquent students. Following the introduction, the next section of…