As the number of charter schools continues to grow, one facet of their autonomy--the ability to set and enforce independent disciplinary standards--has raised difficult questions about whether those schools are pushing out students who pose behavior or academic challenges and how their policies affect regular public schools. Research on the issue…

With nightmare visions of a gunman stalking school halls, districts often rush to hire police officers to patrol their campuses after news of a school shooting. Critics of that impulsive response, which has been in high gear nationwide since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December, acknowledge the concern for student and staff…

After spending years in a special education system that carefully spells out their rights and the services they should receive, students with disabilities often find it daunting to contemplate their next steps after high school. Should they apply to college, look for a job, or stay in the special education system until they "age out" at…

Some of the students at Success Academy are doing International Baccalaureate-level work. Most of the classes have just five or six students. But this Baltimore public high school isn't for elite students. Admission depends on whether students have done something so serious a regular district school won't have them anymore: assaulting classmates…

At City Springs and many other schools across the country, restorative practices are about holding students accountable and getting them to right a wrong. The approach is getting more notice than ever as criticism grows of zero-tolerance disciplinary policies that often require out-of-school suspension and expulsion. Educators are turning to…

The U.S. Supreme Court declined without comment to take up two major appeals involving student free-speech rights on the Internet. One appeal encompassed two cases decided in favor of students last June by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, in Philadelphia. The other appeal stemmed from a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for…

A new report finding that black and Hispanic students are far more likely to be kicked out of school when they break the rules adds to a growing chorus of concern over the discipline policies being used in K-12 schools. Over the past two years, an increasing number of reports and initiatives have pointed out problems with 'zero tolerance"…

Response to intervention began as a way to identify and teach struggling readers and special education students. It's fast becoming a way to change schooling for everyone. This special report examines the many forms the approach is now taking, its research base, its influence on the educational marketplace, and the federal regulations that both…

This 17th edition of "Education Week's" annual "Quality Counts" report takes aim at an issue freighted with emotional as well as policy implications: the impact of a school's social and disciplinary environment on students' ability to learn and on the teachers and administrators tasked with guiding them. National initiatives to improve schools…

Videos of teachers that students taped in secrecy are all over online sites like YouTube and MySpace. Angry teachers, enthusiastic teachers, teachers clowning around, singing, and even dancing are captured, usually with camera phones, for the whole world to see. Some students go so far as to create elaborately edited videos, shot over several…