This research provides a unique seven-year trend analysis indicating that, while California has seen a decline in the use of suspensions in schools prior to the pandemic, the pace of the decline has slowed and large racial disparities in suspension rates remain. The research supports renewed advocacy efforts to eliminate schools' use of security…

Districts have been engaged in efforts to reduce "differential processing" of discipline-referred students based on their racial backgrounds. They strive for fair assignment of exclusionary consequences across racial groups. The current study examines discipline records for one academic year in an urban school district (N = 9,039…

Children's school experiences may contribute in many ways to disproportionate minority contact with the juvenile justice system, writes Paul Hirschfield. For example, research shows that black students who violate school rules are more often subject to out-of-school suspensions, which heighten their risk of arrest and increase the odds that once…

Morris Jeff Community School is a brand-new, ability-inclusive, intentionally diverse charter in the Mid-City area of New Orleans, Louisiana. In a city where the educational landscape is dominated by other charter schools, Morris Jeff stands out for its International Baccalaureate curriculum, dedication to ability inclusion and diversity,…

In this article, the authors share a case study of a special educator who worked closely with a leadership team in an urban elementary school to establish universal behavior expectations for all students. The special educator was a behavior coach in the urban elementary school located in a southwestern school of the United States of America.…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand why 12 teachers write office discipline referrals for elementary school students in a Title I elementary school located in the Southwestern United States. This study explored the experiences of 12 teachers using the following research questions: (1) What classroom management approaches…

When considering the management of student behaviour issues, a substantial body of literature, as well as logical common sense, points to the advantages of whole school policy over the individual efforts of teachers. Less is known, however, about the direct or indirect role school leadership plays in the development of well-implemented whole…

This study evaluated the scale-up of a Safe & Civil Schools "Foundations: Establishing Positive Discipline Policies" positive behavioral interventions and supports initiative through 4 years of "real-world" implementation in a large urban school district. The study extends results from a previous randomized controlled trial…

Our purpose herein is to demonstrate how restorative justice continues to unfold globally and we explain how the use of a restorative justice ideology and intervention leads to a common alternative, not only in criminal justice institutions, but also within social agencies, such as elementary schools, and the related social support systems. We…

The purpose of the present study was to assess the efficacy of a culturally adapted version of the Strong Start intervention program on the social-emotional outcomes of African American male students. Externalizing behavior problems of children, specifically African American males, are of great concern for schools. Punitive discipline polices such…

This report provides nationally representative data on public school safety and discipline for the 2013-14 school year. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) previously collected data on this topic in the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), which was last conducted in the 2009-10 school year (Neiman 2011). This report presents…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether teachers' sense of efficacy influences their attitude towards the use of physical punishment in schools. There were two groups of participants in the study: pre-service and in-service early childhood teachers. The sample was made up of 78 in-service teachers from two different school districts and…

This article reports a study conducted on children's social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in a single pre-primary school in Bangalore, with the objective of developing a behaviour management policy for use by teachers. Limited evidence is available in the Indian literature in the area of SEBD and it remains important to know how…

Little research exists that examines the exercise of discretion by principals in their disciplinary decision making. This study sought to understand the application of values by principals as they engage in student disciplinary decision making within legally fixed parameters of their administrative discretion. This qualitative methodology used…

Recent research has explored both the disproportionate number of students of color disciplined in schools and the disproportionate severity of discipline for like events. National research has found that not only are African American students disciplined more than their white peers, but they face more severe penalties for like offenses. For this…