Over the past decade, numerous reports have indicated pervasively high rates of early childhood expulsion nationwide. In response, state and federal policymakers have enacted various measures to ban or reduce reliance on such exclusionary discipline. Prior evaluations of the implementation of one such legislative ban on expulsion enacted in…

Researchers and policymakers have written extensively about the lack of evidence for the use of suspension and expulsion in schools and the disproportionate impact among racial and ethnic minorities and children in special education. As a result, states across the country have passed legislation to reform school discipline practices, with varying…

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…

The enactment of Senate Bill 100/Public Act 099-0456 (SB100) in 2016 compelled school districts throughout Illinois to evaluate student discipline policies. This dissertation examines the impact SB100 had on middle and high schools throughout the state and within a large suburban K-12 school district. This dissertation is organized into three…

In Illinois, Senate Bill 100 was known in the statutes as Public Act 99-0456, took effect September, 15, 2016. Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightford and Illinois State Representative William Davis both sponsored Senate Bill 100. Senator Lightford said, "We're moving toward a disciplinary system that prioritizes educating students by…

The Illinois School Code requires hearing officers in student expulsion or suspension review cases to provide the school board with a written summary of the evidence heard. While no particular form is required for the summary, this document presents a sample hearing report that can serve as a model for those preparing reports. The…

Analyzes "Camlin v. Beecher Community School District (Illinois)," wherein the state appellate court held that the school board violated its own drug policy when it expelled a high school student for allegedly smoking marijuana on a field trip without first offering him an opportunity to enter a drug education program. Court also held…

This Illinois state memorandum to school district superintendents provides clarification of policies regarding discipline of students with disabilities, specifically the issue of multiple suspensions, which may in the aggregate total more than 10 school days per school year, and the amount of services required during disciplinary exclusions. The…