National context: Schools across the United States have long grappled with the role and impact of school-based police officers, often referred to as school resource officers (SROs). Proponents for school-based policing believe that SROs contribute to school safety by preventing or addressing crime and violence in schools. Opponents of SROs in…

Research on LGBTQ+ students and their sense of belonging in public schools is necessary; minoritized students deserve to feel safe, validated, and valued in a space where they belong. Using the 2017-2018 School Survey on Crime and Safety public-access data, we align variables to Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems framework. This study explored…

The impact of chronic absenteeism is devastating nationally as it can lead to poor academic achievement, increased dropout rates, and the school-to-prison pipeline (Balfanz & Cornfeld, 2016). The purpose of this program evaluation is to examine the attendance program at large suburban high school in the southeast United States. This program…

To expand participation in Advanced Placement (AP) courses, several District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) high schools have enacted a policy mandating that all students enroll in one or more AP courses. To promote quality instruction in AP courses, DCPS recommends regular teacher participation in the Advanced Placement Summer Institute (APSI)…

Over the past decade the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) has sought to expand participation in Advanced Placement (AP) courses in order to improve high school outcomes (attendance, achievement, and graduation) and longer-term outcomes (postsecondary enrollment and degree completion). DCPS wants to understand policies and recommendations…

This document contains the appendixes for the full report, "Advanced Placement Participation, Staffing, and Staff Training in the District of Columbia Public Schools." The study examined students' AP exam taking and passing rates in schools that mandate AP course enrollment and in schools that do not, teacher participation in the…

The purpose of this study was to review school policy documents and seek secondary principals' perspectives regarding Black, Asian, and Latino males grades 9-12 in North Dakota public schools. Qualitative data was collected to investigate practices, policies, and routines that contributes to their graduation rates. Interviews were conducted to…

Under the current Denver Public Schools (DPS) transportation policy, students are eligible for transportation if they attend their designated neighborhood school and live a specified distance from that school -- more than 1 mile away for elementary school, 2.5 miles for middle schools, and 3.5 miles for high school. A multitude of exceptions exist…

This article examines Black male students' perceptions of the role of race and racism in perpetuating the school-to-prison pipeline. Through a phenomenological investigation of ten Black male students in the New Orleans area, this article finds that Black male students perceive racism in society, racism in schools, and poor teacher expectations to…

Chicago's public school system is decidedly less diverse and less affluent than the city that hosts it. In order to combat racial and socioeconomic segregation within the district, and to encourage greater diversity and opportunity for the district's most competitive and popular programs, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) designed an innovative system…

Last year, the California Legislature passed a new law--the California Mathematics Placement Act--to address widespread concern over equity in the math placement process. The law is aimed at improving the measurement of student performance in order to move more students successfully through the high school curriculum. In this context, researchers…

Weight-related outcomes were examined among high school students in Minnesota public school districts according to the quality of district wellness policies. Wellness policy strength and comprehensiveness were scored using the Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT) for 325 Minnesota public school districts in 2013. The associations between…

Even as we mark the fortieth anniversary of Title IX, evidence indicates that pregnant and parenting high school students continue to struggle with stigmatization and discrimination within the public school system. To remind school social work practitioners and other concerned administrators of the provisions of this historic legislation, this…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Push Outs -- Children of Color and includes: (1) Partnerships, Not Push Outs--Collaboration is Critical to Dealing with Disparities…

Although much of the current educational research literature on achievement gaps has focused on core curricular areas in public schools, few have focused on racially identifiable gaps in non-core areas such as high school foreign languages. These achievement, and thus advancement, gaps often result in the under-representation of students of color…