Student discipline and the ineffectiveness of out-of-school suspension is examined in light of the Ontario (Canada) legislative reform that supported a greater emphasis on progressive discipline alternatives to out-of-school suspension. Alternative discipline herein is explored via the behavior education plan, the school survival group, and…

With the constant concern over violence in schools, school officials are looking for ways to head off this potential problem and to better assure a safe environment for all students. One way that has become popular is the implementation of peer mediation programs where students assist other students in learning how to deal with conflict through…

Louisiana developed a time frame for compiling the State Performance Plan with as much opportunity for broad stakeholder input as possible before the required submission date. Bearing in mind the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, Louisiana's Steering Committee projected performance targets through the year 2014 for the…

Bearing in mind the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, Louisiana's Steering Committee projected performance targets through the year 2014 for the important areas of: (1) Graduation with a Diploma; (2) Dropout Rate; (3) Placement, ages 6-21 and ages 3-5; (4) Achievement Performance Levels, and (5) Discipline. Annual gains were…

The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), signed on December 3, 2004, required that, not later than one year after the date of enactment of the reauthorized IDEA, each state is required to have in place a performance plan evaluating the state's implementation of Part B and describing how the state will improve such…

The effectiveness of an existing peer mediation program in a diverse, suburban elementary school was examined. Peer mediation was available to all students (N = 825). Three-year longitudinal data showed significant reductions in the school's out-of-school suspensions after implementation of the peer mediation program. Mediation training also…

This report focuses on the activities of school advocacy groups in the area of school discipline. It concludes that the advocacy approach, while not always appropriate, is the most desirable for problems which neither conventional school programs nor relatively new conflict resolution mechanisms adequately address. (Author/RLV)

Instead of making suspension and detention the backbone of discipline programs, schools should try alternative learning centers operating on several different levels simultaneously. Centers can be inschool suspension programs or places where kids can take time-out, study, or voluntarily get their heads together. Centers are most effective when…

An outcome evaluation of the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) in four New Orleans (Louisiana) public schools studied the program's impact on teachers' classroom management skills and the use of suspension as a disciplinary measure. Over half of the 63 teachers thought that RCCP improved their problem managing behavior, and principals…

After four years of implementation, the National Center for Education Statistics found that schools employing zero-tolerance policies are still less safe than those without such policies. Indiscriminate use of force is the hallmark of authoritarianism. Programmatic prevention, screening and early identification, and effective discipline policies…