A common response to school violence features the use of security measures to deter serious and violent incidents. However, a second approach, based on school climate theory, suggests that schools exhibiting authoritative school discipline (i.e., high structure and support) might more effectively reduce school disorder. We tested these approaches…

This study presents the findings of a content analysis of 120 high school-level, written discipline policies collected from six states. Suspension was commonly offered as a response for all behaviors, including minor ones. Discipline policies varied by state in terms of the degree to which suspension was featured. Based on these findings and…

While it is generally agreed that students responsible for misbehavior should be held accountable, the meaning of accountability and how it might best be achieved appear to remain ill-defined. In this article, we propose that accountability can be operationalized as a fourfold process. Based on related literature, experience, and empirical…