Disproportionate rates of suspensions and expulsions among racial/ethnic groups are a local, state, and national concern. Maryland has made significant progress in decreasing the use of exclusionary discipline, but there is substantial work left to do to move toward equity. Maryland has cut the use of exclusionary discipline practices by half in…

Discriminatory discipline practices in the nation's schools disproportionately impact students of color; students with emotional, behavioral, and cognitive disabilities; and youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ). Large numbers of these students are removed from class, lose opportunities to learn, and…

Describes a successful disciplinary project that helps prevent delinquency through an organized in-school suspension and counseling program. (MD)

Handicapped children are not immune from a school's disciplinary rules but such children may have additional protection under Public Law 94-142. (Author/IRT)

Discusses nine types of court approved disciplinary measures available to schools and teachers. These include detention and in-school suspension, corporal punishment, physical restraint, grade reduction, denial of extracurricular participation, and suspension and expulsion. Synopses of significant legal decisions covering the application of school…

This article examines the body of case law which has developed over the appropriate use of various timeout procedures (e.g., exclusion, seclusion/isolation) of students with behavior disorders. Seven guidelines for the legally correct application of timeout procedures are offered. (DB)

Federal regulation protects handicapped students' education against unwarranted interruption without specifying procedures for disciplining handicapped students. This article reviews court decisions in disciplinary cases and provides procedural guidelines to follow in disciplining handicapped students. (MD)

Focuses on practical guidelines for the implementation of discipline policy at the local level, including suggestions for distinguishing discipline policy for disabled students from discipline policy affecting students in general. (MLF)

Six steps are provided for addressing the problem of student misconduct: (1) developing a well-publicized districtwide program, (2) creating a task force to develop a misconduct management handbook for teachers, (3) soliciting reactions, (4) field testing the draft, (5) revising the handbook, and (6) followup. (TE)

In deciding "Honig v. Doe" the United States Supreme Court held that the unilateral exclusion of a handicapped student for conduct caused by the student's disability, for a period in excess of 10 school days, constitutes a prohibited change of placement. Identifies and discusses seven unanswered questions regarding disciplining…

Maryland's Perryville High School Positive Disciplinary Project involves both actively disruptive students referred by the administration and students who have demonstrated the potential to be disruptive who are referred by teachers, guidance counselors, or parents. In either instance, the student becomes a part of the program for the entire…

This article analyzes four federal court cases dealing with the use of reductive interventions to manage the behaviors of behaviorally disordered students in public schools. Definitions and principles of corporal punishment, suspension, expulsion, and timeout are outlined; and the legal status of these punishment procedures is explained.…

Affiliate clinical faculty are increasingly important in the evaluation, discipline, and dismissal of pharmacy students. The implications of two recent Supreme Court decisions are highlighted. Schools' readiness to defend the professional judgments of their faculty is paramount to prevailing in court when students challenge academic or…

Student disciplinary proceedings often present a challenge for school-board members and school administrators alike. One of the biggest obstacles to fairness in any school-related hearing is the potential for confusing the roles among administrators and the board. It may be impossible to avoid all these role conflicts in some situations, but this…

A recent decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case from Arkansas centered on a vicious letter written by an 8th-grade boy about his former girlfriend and turned over to school officials. The court ruled for the school district in expelling the student for the year, without allowing him to attend an alternative school. Argues that…