The purpose of this "Equity by Design" brief is to provide information to parents, community members, and school district leaders and teachers about the relationship between housing policy and school policy. Specifically, this brief provides a succinct history of U.S. housing policy, discusses some current educational policies that…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in the United States in March 2020, districts across the nation have faced the difficult task of reopening schools safely and keeping them open. It is useful to learn from the successes of districts that have used multilayered mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of in-school transmission. This brief…

Bullying in schools is often discussed, but sexual harassment in schools, and how it differs from bullying is often overlooked. In fact, though, sexual harassment (committed both by fellow students and school personnel) is more common and yet more easily and quickly dismissed by those involved, though its consequences for the victim can be…

Directed at students, teachers, and administrators who illegally copy (pirate) software in the elementary and secondary schools, this paper clarifies the copyright law as it applies to software and suggests five reasons why school personnel break the law. Research is cited which indicates that the act of copying software penalizes software…

This document presents guidelines developed by the Los Angeles Unified School District to help strengthen support from parents, the community, and community leaders for the school district's programs. It provides a statement regarding school and parent responsibilities and suggestions for how the school staff and parents, working together, may…

This publication, resulting from a survey of more than 2,000 school districts, focuses on school violence and ways to prevent it. Section 1 discusses both the problem of school violence and also the critical role that school boards must play in keeping schools safe. This section also includes information about how school boards can develop…

Much of this brief comes from the ERIC Digest on Zero Tolerance Policies (ERIC #: ED451579). State legislatures and school boards are adopting a growing number of zero-tolerance polices toward weapons, guns, and violence. Zero-tolerance polices are rules intended to address specific school-safety issues. Despite the controversies that it has…

The purpose of this lesson packet is to raise issues about student rights of free expression in public schools. Included are preparatory reading material and two classroom simulation activities. The lessons are based on the U.S. Supreme Court case of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, in which a Missouri high school principal and school district were sued by…