The U.S. Department of Education released a data set in 2011-2012 regarding discipline in schools in the U.S. The data revealed Black girls were the fastest growing population of students experiencing suspension and expulsion. Compared to their White peers, Black girls were suspended at a rate of six times more. The theoretical framework for this…

Richard O. Welsh takes on the school discipline crisis in "Suspended Futures," delineating the persistent racial disparities in how educators perceive and respond to the behavior of students. Welsh offers a framework for disrupting and dismantling a disciplinary system that disproportionately disadvantages students of Black, Latinx, and…

Research Findings: The present study examines the associations between various elements of a teacher's social-emotional well-being and context and her requests for the permanent removal of a child from her classroom. Specifically, the current study explores teachers' perceptions of their emotional intelligence, levels of depression,…

The 2020-21 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a mandatory survey of all public school districts and schools serving students in preschool through grade 12 in the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and therefore includes data from 17,821 public school districts and 97,575 public schools. The CRDC measures student…

Students with disabilities (SWDs) are more likely to be suspended or expelled than their general education peers and more likely to be chronically absent. This study uses 5 years of student-level data for all Michigan special education students to examine the relationship between educational setting, absenteeism, and disciplinary outcomes. Using…

Permanent exclusion from primary school is an issue of national and local concern; previous literature has primarily focused on secondary school experiences of school exclusion. Furthermore, research offering detailed insights into the experience of permanent exclusion from the perspectives of pupils, parents and school staff is limited. This…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Redefining Discipline." Contents include: (1) Stop the Bad; Do the Good --…

Challenging behavior in preschool can lead to harmful outcomes for some children. While interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing or eliminating challenging behavior, evidence suggests that young children with challenging behavior are under-identified for services, increasing their risk for expulsion from early childhood programs.…

Drawing on data from a longitudinal study of at-risk youth (n = 593), this article reports on the analysis of factors that enabled these youth to succeed at school. It considers the impact of three baseline factors (age, gender, ethnicity) and a number of time-dynamic factors [positive school environment, additional educational support, positive…

Providing students with equitable and safe learning experiences is a fundamental right; however school districts grapple with balancing student learning and student safety. In the Brown vs the Board of Education (1954) decision, the court identified education as a basic public responsibility and a principal instrument to facilitate understanding…

Many teachers do not receive the support necessary to simultaneously teach and respond appropriately to challenging student behavior. The systems in place are often purely reactive and lack a preventative component to address challenging behavior. The Center for Promise examined exclusionary discipline in Minnesota by speaking with young people…

Children in foster care have experienced significant trauma due to the loss of primary attachment figures and the circumstances associated with that loss. Children who have suffered trauma generally present with cognitive, social, physical, and emotional vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are often expressed in the P-12 academic setting…

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…

We examine the effects of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District's (CMSD) districtwide efforts to improve school safety, order, and conditions for learning. These approaches include implementing (1) a social and emotional learning program for elementary students (PATHS); (2) a planning model for students exhibiting academic or nonacademic…

Disciplinary exclusion is a strategy used by some schools in response to challenging behaviour. While some studies have explored interventions that can be implemented to reduce the exclusion of "at risk" pupils, others have considered how the underlying school ethos influences how challenging behaviour is understood and managed. The…