Over the past decade, states and school districts have acted on research findings that the use of out-of-school suspension has run counter to the goals of education equity and achievement. Legislatures, as well as state and local boards of education, worked hard to shift school discipline practices through statutory and regulatory mandates and…

School shootings are at an all-time high. That's according to the National Center for Education Statistics, which has been keeping track of the numbers for about 20 years. What are schools to do? Is there a "profile" of the typical school shooter that could help us identify those who might commit a shooting in the future? Is there some…

Gun violence and school shootings have become more prevalent in recent years, and beginning in 2017, firearm-related injuries became the most common cause of injury-related death for children ages 1 to 24. Students also face the threat of bullying, gangs, racism, drugs, and abuse. In recognition of the need for collective action, the Council of…

Reflecting an overall policy shift in Oregon and nationwide, Oregon passed laws in 2013 and 2015 aimed at changing the way school discipline is applied in grades K-12. The 2013 legislation directed districts to replace zero-tolerance policies with an emphasis on preventing and reducing unnecessary student suspensions and expulsions. Suspensions…

Aim/Purpose: This paper presents some of the issues that academia faces in both the detection of plagiarism and the aftermath. The focus is on the latter, how academics and educational institutions around the world can address the challenges that "follow" the identification of an incident. The scope is to identify the need for and…

The author works at The Atlantic Philanthropies, an international foundation dedicated to advancing lasting change for those who are unfairly disadvantaged or vulnerable to life's circumstances. At the heart of The Atlantic Philanthropies work is the belief that all people have the right to opportunity, equity, and dignity. The urgency of school…

Black students comprise approximately 19% of the preschool population, yet they represent 47% of school suspensions (U.S. Department of Education 2016). Although it is posited that most teachers seek to serve all children to the best of their abilities, research indicates that many school personnel engage in implicit biases that influence their…

The 2022 Legislature directed the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to create an advisory workgroup with specific participants to report back on topics related to student isolation and seclusion. This legislative report provides a background on the workgroup, history of isolation and restraint, current practices in the state of…

This policy brief is part of a larger research report, "Making ESSA's Equity Promise Real: State Strategies to Close the Opportunity Gap," that describes how states are using opportunities in ESSA [Every Student Succeeds Act] to better support historically underserved students through the thoughtful selection of specific equity measures…

There is no doubt that the safety of children in schools and in communities is paramount. Incidents of school violence in the United States have motivated researchers and practitioners to explore and employ effective methodologies and strategies to promote safety in classrooms and schools. Still, issues of disruptive behavior top the list of…

Across the country, there are a growing number of students with and without disabilities who are being suspended or expelled from their regularly assigned or zoned schools. There are three primary purposes to this two-part article series. The first purpose is to increase awareness of special education law-focused on the least restrictive…

Creating safe and supportive schools that are free from bullying, discrimination, harassment, aggression, violence, and abuse is essential to this mission. Bullying among school-age youth is a particularly serious, insidious, and pervasive problem that undermines the teaching and learning environment, increases mental health and behavior problems,…

Cyberbullying involves repeated and unwanted aggressive behavior using the Internet, cell phones or other digital devices and is used to hurt or embarrass another person. The National Crime Prevention Council found that 43% of teens had experienced some form of cyberbullying in the past year and that cyberbullying is most common among 15-16 year…

The document provides policy recommendations of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) regarding the use of seclusion procedures in schools. It includes: (a) an Introduction; (b) a Declaration of Principles; and (c) Recommendations Regarding the Use of Seclusion in School Settings. Explanation or elaboration of policy…

A trenchant and wide-ranging look at this alarming national trend, "Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline" is unsparing in its account of the problem while pointing in the direction of meaningful and much-needed reforms. The "school-to-prison pipeline" has received much attention in the education world over the past few…