There is a growing concern around the mental and behavioral health of children and youth as such conditions as anxiety disorders, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorders affect almost one in five children and youth ages 3 to 17. The coronavirus pandemic brought many challenges: Children missed years of in-person…

Background: In 2023, the US state of Texas passed a bill on vaping in school -- House Bill 114 (HB 114) -- which took effect in Texas public schools on 1 September of that year. HB 114 mandates that any student caught vaping in school be placed on a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP). The efficacy of HB 114 may be contingent, at…

National policies have targeted widespread exclusionary discipline in schools which is associated with negative academic outcomes. Principals play an important role in making disciplinary decisions, yet little is understood about how their mindsets might impact these decisions. We hypothesized that principals' mindsets regarding the purpose of…

School officials have debated the pros and disadvantages of students using cell phones in school. To examine the influence of student cell phone use on academics and conduct, Ohio high school and middle school administrators (6-12) were surveyed on their policies and perceptions of cell phone use in their schools. The research also examined the…

School administrators are projected to implement behavior expectations and be knowledgeable of various strategies that are effective for all students including students in the exceptional student education programs. They are also anticipated to be effective in classroom management and behavior management schoolwide. Having unsuccessful behavior…

The researchers used a qualitative design with a descriptive phenomenological approach to examine the experiences of 10 principals in creating and sustaining a positive school climate during COVID-19. The researchers conducted interviews over Zoom from October to December in 2021. The principals have worked in two American states, one Midwestern…

We report results of an exploratory validation study of the "Student Risk Screening Scale-Internalizing and Externalizing" (SRSS-IE) applied with the first sample of middle and high school students from nine middle and three high schools from three states. The "Student Risk Screening Scale" (SRSS) was modified to broaden the…

School resource officers' (SROs) presence (e.g., engagement in patrol, carrying firearms, etc.) and prevention (e.g., mentoring, teaching) roles have not been distinguished in investigations of SROs' association with student outcomes. A model predicting nonviolent incidents and serious violent incidents reported to police from SRO presence and…

This report summarizes changes in student discretionary discipline removals from AISD schools and changes in staff's climate survey results as well as student's climate survey results from 2011-2012 through 2015-2016, with a focus on when learning support centers (LSCs) were implemented in 2012-2013.

School safety is a priority for school administrators and policy makers as they seek strategies to provide an environment conducive to learning. Beyond preventing crime, schools must contend with social disturbances that may not rise to the level of criminal activity, but can negatively affect students, teachers, and the school environment. One…

Although teachers are in a key position to identify and support students with emotional and behavioral challenges, their provision of these supports is often inconsistent. The current study investigated patterns in teacher identification of student emotional and behavioral challenges, as well as their provision of supports. Participants were 172…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Is California Doing Enough to Close the School Discipline Gap?" In California, a combination of statewide and local efforts has been implemented to reduce the use of punitive suspensions in public K-12 schools. Current state data trends reflect these efforts, showing that far fewer students…

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to explore the perceptions of school safety among middle and high school teachers in rural Louisiana. In order to achieve this objective, a specific research question was formulated pertaining to teacher perceptions. The Safe Communities Safe Schools (SCSS) survey was used to assess teachers'…

This research provides a unique seven-year trend analysis indicating that, while California has seen a decline in the use of suspensions in schools prior to the pandemic, the pace of the decline has slowed and large racial disparities in suspension rates remain. The research supports renewed advocacy efforts to eliminate schools' use of security…

The purpose of this report was to describe trends in disciplinary removals in Maryland from the 2009/10 to 2017/18 school years and apply the Maryland State Department of Education's (MSDE) definition of discipline disproportionality to identify and describe disproportionate schools. The report presents an analysis of administrative data from…