This study examined the impact on student academic performance of referrals for disciplinary intervention in West Virginia. The study also examined differences in these impacts among various student subgroups. Using discipline referral data entered into the West Virginia Education Information System for the 2012-2013 school year and employing…

During the past two decades, scholars, educators, and special interest organizations, including advocacy groups, have critically examined and debated the ethical and legal use of aversive interventions with individuals with disabilities. These interventions comprise a broad spectrum of behavior management techniques including but not at all…

The West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE), recognizing the need for safe and supportive schools, revised its policy regarding student conduct. The result, "Expected Behaviors in Safe and Supportive Schools" (WVBE Policy 4373, effective July 1, 2012), put forth the behaviors expected of West Virginia's students; the rights and…

Suspensions are often used as an individual disciplinary consequence in attempts to reduce problem behaviors in the future. However, suspensions have shown to be less effective for students with specific behavioral challenges and problems. When examining suspensions in the context of behaviorist and social-ecological learning theories, suspending…

In this study, school disciplinary procedures/programs used in response to disciplinary referrals and programs that schools have in place to prevent, intervene, and respond to behaviors that result in suspensions or expulsions from the classroom or school were investigated. The focus of this study was school leaders' concerns regarding the…

Although bullying continues to be a growing public health concern in schools across the United States, there are considerable gaps in the American understanding of effective prevention approaches for addressing this seemingly intractable issue. This article applies a public health approach to addressing bullying through the multitiered Positive…

Aggressive behaviors in schools and bullying behaviors amongst children are a serious problem in the school context. As a consequence of an aggressive atmosphere in the classroom, learning processes are disturbed and children are less likely to experience pleasure when attending school. Teachers face a big challenge as a result. As we know from…

Suspension centres are a government initiative to help address disruptive student beahviour in NSW government schools. The centres are for students on long suspension from school and have not been formally evaluated. Stakeholders were asked their opinions regarding: what are the best things happening with suspension centres or what should be…

Public schools deploy a range of processes and practices that help constitute the formation and legitimation of certain knowledges, relationships, skills, values and, ultimately, subjectivities. School discipline regimes are one of these practices. Exercising their power through pedagogical modes of address, these regimes are currently organizing…

In recent years, there have been major concerns expressed regarding the use of restraint and seclusion to control the behavior of children with disabilities and/or challenging behavior. In May of 2009, for example, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released findings regarding a number of cases in which seclusion and restraint were…

Across the country, there are a growing number of students with and without disabilities who are being suspended or expelled from their regularly assigned or zoned schools. There are three primary purposes to this two-part article series. The first purpose is to increase awareness of special education law-focused on the least restrictive…

The purpose of this study was to determine if seventh through twelfth grade educators' attitudes towards School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) are affected based on their gender, years of experience, school discipline policy, leadership style, and knowledge of SWPBS. Through an online survey, an analysis of the leadership style and…

The purpose of this study was to determine how an urban school district's code of conduct aligned with actual school/class behaviors, and how stakeholders perceived the ability of this document to achieve its number one goal: safe and productive learning environments. Twenty participants including students, teachers, parents, and administrators…

This paper presents the appendices included in the "Good Discipline: Legislation for Education Reform" report. Appended are: (1) Federal Data Requirements; (2) Maryland State Law Requiring Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support Program when suspension rates exceed a certain level; (3) The Act's provisions focused on training and…

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…