This book examines the incidence and impact of school suspension and discusses its effectiveness as a disciplinary measure. Basically, this publication is intended to follow up and expand on a 1974 report on the use of school suspension, "Children out of School in America." Data for this current study were drawn from suspension data submitted to the federal Office for Civil Rights by 2,862 school districts, from an independent survey of over 6,500 families in nine states and the District of Columbia, and from more than 300 additional interviews with school officials and community leaders. Individual chapters offer an overview of the use of school suspension, present various educational administrators' views on school discipline, examine why children are suspended and how suspension affects them, summarize statistical data on the incidence of suspension, discuss suspension as a form of racial discrimination, describe the legal requirements for due process in suspension cases and suggest how schools can meet those requirements, and examine various approaches that have been tried as alternatives to suspension. Numerous tables that summarize statistical data on the use of school suspension are presented throughout the book and in the appendix. (JG)