We conducted focus groups with high school staff, students, parents, and administrators to gain information about how to design professional development training supporting high school staff in implementing restorative practices within a multitiered support system. Results indicated that all stakeholders valued trust and relationship building and…

Horrific events such as the fatal shooting of three high school students in Chardon, Ohio, in the winter of 2012 places tremendous pressure on state and local agencies to ensure that schools provide a safe and conducive learning environment for all students. To help curb school violence, schools have adopted zero-tolerance policies, which often…

Discriminatory discipline has been widely documented for decades, yet little progress has been made to narrow the gap. Due to the long-standing history of discriminatory discipline, current nationwide data, and recent federal initiatives, there is a need for a comprehensive examination of this critical issue. Therefore, we discuss populations…

This article provides a tabular analysis of court rulings where public school principals challenged the adverse employment actions of involuntary transfer, suspension, demotion, nonrenewal, constructive termination, and termination during the period 1998-2012. The primary findings were that (a) the judicial outcomes were markedly in favor of the…

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that may influence school administrators' disciplinary decisions involving students with disabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis suggests that the investigator-developed measures adequately represent the hypothesized latent factors per the pattern of observed responses. The hypothesized…

Special education litigation remains a volatile area with significant practice implications. A review of the 2010 case law in the "Special Educator" identified discipline (manifestation determination, seclusion and restraints, harassment), evaluation/RTI, and postsecondary transition as specific areas of concern. School administrators should keep…

Realizing the need to establish a procedure to hear cases in which decisions are questioned, the student government organization in one midwestern school set out to formulate a fair and equitable due process procedure. The writer presents the Appeals Board procedure here as a model. (Editor)

An effective discipline program requires time, effort, and commitment from the school administrator. Guidelines are suggested. (Author/MLF)

Describes a method for controlling minor incidents of disruptive behavior and failure to prepare for class. (MCG)

A three-year study of data on student discipline in one school supports a theory of a relationship between behavior and environmental factors.(MD)

A successful inschool suspension program is described that brings together a professional staffer knowledgeable in counseling and a variety of subject areas, an unpleasant image among students, and a reasonable length of the student's day. Guidelines and rules are listed. (MJL)

The "discipline ladder" approach emphasizes that each successive offense of the same type should result in punishment made more uncomfortable by designed increments. (Author/IRT)

The successful program to reduce discipline problems described here emphasized four areas. An effort was made to change the erroneous thinking of students, parents, and teachers; to reward and punish students systematically; to clean up the campus; and to increase cooperation and responsibility. (Author/IRT)

A program where students are supervised and disciplined for improper actions operates successfully at Hemet Junior High School in California. (Author/MLF)