The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated racial disparities: while reading and math scores decreased for all racial and ethnic groups from 2020 to 2022, scores dropped the most for Black and Hispanic students. Creating healthy schools that specifically support students' and educators' health and well-being is a critical step in addressing these…

To continue the nation's progress in creating safe schools, states and school districts need support to implement evidence-based approaches that address student needs. Since 1999, federal discretionary funding to improve student safety has sought to address the underlying factors--students' social and emotional development and mental and…

This brief introduces a "Trauma-Informed Policy Framework to Create Supportive Learning Environments" to help state officials create supportive learning environments that meet the needs of students with a history of traumatic experiences and ensure that all students succeed in school. A supportive learning environment is a school that…

Strong anti-bullying policies are foundational to effective bullying prevention. The Youth Bullying Prevention Act of 2012 (YBPA; DC Law L19-167) is among the most comprehensive bullying prevention policies across the United States and its territories. The law and its implementing regulations require all schools and youth-serving agencies…

In response to highly publicized violent incidents in schools, such as the Columbine High School massacre, school disciplinary policies have become increasingly severe. These policies have been implemented at the school, district, and state levels with the goal of ensuring the safety of students and staff. Many of these policies have one component…