The Alternative Suspension Therapy (AST) program is a trauma-informed, in-school discipline model that was designed to serve as an alternative to traditional suspension. The goal of the AST program was to minimize or eliminate the number of referrals a student might receive that could possibly lead to suspension. The participants in the AST…

Implementing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in an urban school is beneficial to students, parents, administrators, schools, districts, and policymakers. Previous studies have emphasized that teachers and other staff members need proper professional development to promote social and emotional learning. They interact with students in situations…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative research study was to analyze the perspectives of educators who are also parents of public-school children regarding the effectiveness of the implementation of punitive, exclusionary and restorative discipline practices within low-income urban elementary schools. The guided protocol questions in…

This study examines the impact of special education on academic and behavioral outcomes for students with learning disabilities (LD) by using statewide Indiana data covering kindergarten through eighth grade. The results from student fixed effects models show that special education services improve achievement in math and English Language Arts,…

African American males inequitably experience two to three times more out-of-school suspensions among other exclusionary discipline practices in comparison with other racial groups, which causes them to become academically disengaged, increases their association with deviant peers, makes them resent of school personnel, and leads them to…

One of the areas that was the topic of discussion amongst educational stakeholders was behavior. This includes incentives, intervention systems, awards, and consequences, addressing an individual vs addressing an entire group, triggers, and/or past influences, to name a few. Behavior is a broad topic and naturally, educators are interested in…

We investigate the beginning of the school discipline pipeline using a reform in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools that limited the use of out-of-school suspension for students in grades K-2. We find that the reform reduced the likelihood of out-of-school suspension by 1.4 percentage points (56%) and had precise null effects on test scores and…

Background/Context/Setting: In the wake of growing evidence regarding the negative impacts of suspension on student outcomes, states and school districts have implemented disciplinary reforms, restricting or eliminating the use of suspension for minor misbehaviors. Recent evaluations of these reforms suggest that they have the potential to…

Increasingly, teachers face the perpetual problem of student misbehavior, which undermines student achievement and quality education. Teachers rely on effective classroom management strategies and school discipline policies to curb student disruptions. Traditionally, disciplinary responses involved suspension, which can negatively impact students.…

This sequential mixed methods study evaluated the impact of the Chicago Parent Program (CPP) in 12 Baltimore Title I PreK programs on parent engagement and student outcomes from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Phase 1 (quasi-experiment; N = 11,996) compared PreK students whose parents enrolled in CPP with those whose parents did not enroll in CPP…

School districts across the nation experience student behavior problems resulting in office discipline referrals, suspensions, and time spent away from instruction. This study examined the implementation (with fidelity based on the Tiered Fidelity Instrument) of positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) at the Tier 1 level and the…

Nationally, educators suspend Black students at greater rates than any other group. This disproportionality is fueled by stereotypes casting Black students as "troublemakers"--a label students too often internalize as part of their identities. Across two independent double-blind randomized field trials involving over 2,000 seventh…

Exclusionary school discipline practices and policies have contributed to the racial disparities in discipline for certain demographic of students, particularly Black students. As a result, many schools have adopted the school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) framework to identify and address disproportionality, despite…

Exclusionary discipline is a consequence of behavior for students who break the student code of conduct. Extensive research about the effects that exclusionary discipline can have on secondary students, as evidenced by reduced graduation rates, has been conducted; but, research studies investigating the potential impact that exclusionary…

School counselors are uniquely positioned within the P-12 education system to ensure that all students meet developmental needs in academic, career, and social-emotional areas in order to become successful and contributing members of society. School counselors collaborate with other school staff and parents/caregivers to ensure that students…