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…

In discussing school discipline, the place to begin is by considering whether detention, suspension, and expulsion help students and resolve discipline problems. Detention seems to be most effective when the student is detained on the same day and as close as possible to the time the offense occurs, but too often detention is used merely as a…

The author of this paper maintains that corporal punishment is a desirable alternative to permanent suspension (expulsion) in cases involving unmanageable students. There are restrictions that must be placed on the use of corporal punishment so that it is a beneficial and not a destructive force. No physical harm should be done to students. The…

Reports from the United Kingdom show increases in the rate of student suspensions and exclusions. An overview of how policy makers are addressing student problems is presented here. The report focuses on education policy makers' proclivity to address student disruption through exclusion from school. It is claimed that suspensions and other forms…

The school effectiveness movement stresses a safe and orderly learning environment for students. Concern for students' and parents' legal rights, coupled with recent criticism of school practices regarding corporal punishment, suspension, and expulsion, has spawned research into theoretical, practical, and legal implications related to pupil…

A brief history of corporal punishment in the public schools, a review of major federal court decisions regarding corporal punishment and due process for students, and an analysis of current trends in disciplinary policy are presented in this report. The conservative trend revealed in school discipline is identified in large part as a response to…

Any action by a public school that interrupts access of handicapped students to an appropriate education is regulated by federal laws, including the Education of the Handicapped Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Disciplinary sanctions such as suspensions and expulsions are included among these interruptions. Decisions in three court…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined Missouri high school principals' perceptions of the effectiveness of various disciplinary procedures, with a focus on in-school suspension (ISS). A survey mailed to 200 Missouri high school principals elicited 159 responses, a 77 percent response rate. The questionnaire asked principals to…

Lack of proper discipline in schools has long been a major concern of the public. Proposals on how to improve discipline have ranged from the bizarre to the cruel. Educators and administrators must devise alternative punishments to replace traditional methods, such as corporal punishment, suspension, and expulsion, that are frequently ineffective.…

A study to determine the status of disciplinary procedures in nonpublic high schools in Nebraska and Kansas is described in this report. A two-part questionnaire to assess schools' written policies and actual practices was administered to 68 out of 72 private schools, a 94 percent response rate. Findings indicate that the majority of nonpublic…

"Pushouts" are victims of discriminatory discipline procedures in public schools. Pushouts first came into view with the publication of a book by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial and the Southern Regional Council. The book is called "The Student Pushout: Victim of Continued Resistance to Desegregation." The Office for Civil Rights in the Department…

Drawing upon data collected during an investigation into the exclusion (suspension or expulsion) from school of primary age children due to behavioral problems, this paper provides an overview of findings from empirical research, but also considers the possibilities for prevention of primary school exclusion by using education service-based…

This paper examines the case law that deals with the issuance of student grades, and reviews most of the reported cases dealing with the lowering of students' grades for non-academic misconduct and the use of grades to exclude students from school. School officials have been known to act arbitrarily when issuing grades to students. It is…

School discipline and behavior management is an area of considerable contest in educational policy formation. Additionally, educators have a greater responsibility to engage in more rigorous theorizing as a first step to more useful research. The first part of this paper distinguishes between "discipline" as a discourse of management and…

Data from the West Virginia Department of Education reveals that from September 1991 to January 1992, school districts reported 18,915 out-of-school suspensions involving 12,997 students. In 1995, the West Virginia State Legislature enacted the Safe Schools Act, which specifically mandates suspension for no less than 12 consecutive months for…