It is now over 10 years since the shootings at Columbine High School in April 1999. While Columbine was not the first school shooting in the United States, or the last, it remains the most important. For many people, but especially for parents, the name "Columbine" has become a one-word summation of fears and concerns about the condition…

How do schools address safety issues, discipline students, and provide effective instruction? These are questions parents and educators need to answer together. Parents of children whose special needs put them at risk for being bullied worry about the school's ability to protect their vulnerable children. Conversely, parents of children who…

Because of increased student misconduct in academic institutions, counselors have had to use traditional voluntary counseling models with involuntary disciplinary clients. The authors propose a policy position that would preclude mandated treatment and instead place an emphasis on counseling readiness programming for disciplinary referrals. A…

Attempts to raise student performance have focused primarily on either relationships between adults in the system or formal curriculum. Relatively ignored has been a focus on what sociologists believe is the primary relationship of consequence for student outcomes--authority relationships between students and educators. Successful school reform is…

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 article discusses the No Passing Plan, a no-passing policy implemented at White Bear Lake (MN) High School-North Campus in order to prevent chronic tardiness and misbehavior in the halls. The plan is an alternative consequence for administrators to use with students who are disruptive in the halls or consistently tardy to class. Suspending…

The first week of school is critical to fostering success for the entire year. The beginning of each new school term provides savvy teachers with the chance to create a classroom culture that is grounded in their unique personality, life experiences, and above all, their expectations for the way they want their classroom to look and feel…

African-American boys are sent to the principal's office more often than any other group and disproportionately to their numbers in a school, according to Victor Cary, partner at the National Equity Project in Oakland, California. That is just one example of how the issues of society at large--racism, classism, sexism, language, and other…

The Assessment-Intervention of Student Problems (AISP) model provides a comprehensive process for understanding and helping students who are either having problems themselves or are causing problems for others on campus. There are three parts to the model: (1) the assessment of the student; (2) the campus intervention team; and (3) the…

Unsupported fears of youth violence in schools has led to an expansion of school-based policing and zero tolerance discipline. The historical reality is that America's public schools are very safe, even when located in high crime neighborhoods. Yet, school discipline is becoming increasingly punitive, moving from the schoolhouse to the courthouse.…

Most Monday mornings are noisy affairs where students and staff members are catching up on the events of the weekend. Sometimes these events are disputes that have festered over the weekend and are now ready to get settled. When a confrontation between students occurs, noise levels accelerate, students begin running, and an unnerving combination…

Student discipline is an ongoing challenge for school administrators, and its importance has been magnified as accountability reporting and public concerns for school safety have come into play. School personnel are expected to maintain a safe school environment that focuses on student learning. Disciplinary interventions should be…

The Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) does the following: (1) Clarifies the relationship between bullying and discriminatory harassment under the civil rights laws enforced by the Department of Education's (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR); (2) Explains how student misconduct that falls under an anti-bullying policy also may trigger responsibilities…

In recent years, many state departments of education and local school districts have taken steps to reduce bullying in schools. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) fully supports these efforts. Bullying fosters a climate of fear and disrespect that can seriously impair the physical and psychological health of its victims and create…

The majority of children do come to school to learn, but it only takes a few persistent troublemakers to rob an entire class of that opportunity. Disruptions in the form of lateness, talking out of turn, and disrespecting the teacher and other students take a serious toll on the educational process. Polls have shown that parents, teachers, and the…