The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Fair Discipline." Contents include: (1) At What Cost? A Review of School Police…

This guide is designed to supply educators with a means to identify whether racial/ethnic disproportionality in discipline practice exists in their schools or districts. It also aims to help educators use data to reduce racial/ethnic disproportionality in suspensions and expulsions. The guide is organized into two sections. The first section…

By allowing students the opportunity to experience individual freedoms and encouraging them to learn and practice the responsibilities emanating from their individual rights, educators are teaching students how to govern themeslves. "Judicious Discipline" offers a perspective for school rules and decisions based on the Bill of Rights and…

To establish effective school discipline policies, educators need to understand (1) the nature of and reasons for misbehavior, (2) social and legal attitudes toward the school's disciplinary function, (3) acceptable responses to disciplinary problems, and (4) what effective policies cover. This booklet's first chapter considers the need for…

Examines a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Bethel, Washington, school district in disciplining a student for giving a sexually provocative speech. Cautions against a possible trend toward renewed school emphasis on dress codes and other issues of decorum. (IW)

After a review of the legal foundations of school governance and specific protection offered handicapped students by federal legislation, this report focuses on Oregon regulations and practices and outlines recommendations for appropriate disciplinary procedures for students categorized as handicapped. Since the Education for All Handicapped…

In response to campus crime schools across the United States have instituted rigorous dress codes, and, in some cases, have required students to wear uniforms to school. The president of the local school board has received petitions from several groups wishing to speak at the next school board meeting. The president's political survival rests upon…

By adopting interactive methods and being sensitive to students' concerns, teachers can minimize uncivil behavior, even in large classes. Solutions found helpful by a number of faculty members focus on several issues, including setting clear expectations, addressing majority needs and rights, taking a proactive approach, and personalizing large…

One of a series of secondary level teaching units presenting case studies with pro and con analyses of particular legal problems, the document presents a student's lesson plan, a teacher's lesson plan, and a lawyer's lesson plan designed to expose students to the concept of procedural due process with particular reference to the Supreme Court's…

This chapter reviews 1982 cases involving pupils. Such cases increased one-third in 1982, with much of the increase attributable to litigation concerning the rights of handicapped students. A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case defining the congressional mandate of an "appropriate education" for such students may help reduce the controversy in…

Classroom management is a topic of enduring concern for teachers, administrators, and the public. It consistently ranks as the first or second most serious educational problem in the eyes of the general public, and beginning teachers consistently rank it as their most pressing concern during their early teaching years. Management problems continue…