Throughout recorded history, slogans have been an important part of our public life. From political rhetoric and propaganda, to social movements and awareness-raising campaigns, their usage has overcome historical periods, cultural barriers, ethnic affiliation, political systems, party allegiance or personal taste. Arguably more than any other…

From Colorado and Connecticut to Florida and Texas, school shootings have struck the U.S. education system. In response, there has been a proliferation of policies, programs, and practices to make schools safer. We term this phenomenon the fortification of schools. Fortification entails prioritizing and instituting various structures, resources,…

The recent increase in school shootings has brought about an urgency to renew efforts to understand and reduce them. In this article, the Division for Emotional and Behavioral Health reviews what is known about school shootings, including data related to incidence and shooter profiles. In addition, we describe responses to shootings, accompanied…

Positive school climates foster an optimal learning environment in which students feel safe and supported, and are in a greater position to thrive in terms of academic performance, better relationships with peers and staff, and overall social-emotional well-being. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) students often have to…

The use of exclusionary discipline practices in schools has been well documented since the 1970s with the passing of the Safe Schools Act and implementation of zero-tolerance policies. Despite research indicating the ineffectiveness of exclusionary practices, students continue to receive suspensions and expulsions at alarming rates. Additional…

The school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) describes in shorthand the problematic relationship between some students' school experiences and their subsequent incarceration. One summer, in response to vocal concerned parents, a suburban school board adopted a zero-tolerance policy for smoking and vaping. Through the combined effects of the zero-tolerance…

Educational leaders must embrace activism as central to their efforts to combat racism and other unjust policies in schools. Social justice activism is an intentional action with the goal of bringing about positive social change. It requires leaders to accept their responsibility to actively resist exclusion, prejudice and injustice in our…

In the 1990s and early 2000s, schools across the United States employed exclusionary discipline at increasing rates as a response to student infractions. Researchers studying school discipline reported on these increases and highlighted the fact that exclusionary discipline for students was associated with myriad other negative outcomes, including…

This article summarizes the accomplishments of research on school safety in the past quarter century, identifies important gaps, and indicates promising directions for further progress. Although closely related, there are distinguishable bodies of research on physical and psychological safety. Physical safety research concerns the prevention of…

Traditionally schools have been spaces that are punitive and have strict behavior guidelines that include zero-tolerance policies. Thus, conventional behavior management practices blame students and position them as rule-breakers. Consequently, all students, but particularly those who come from complex backgrounds, minority groups, and vulnerable…

Young people's encounters with the criminal justice system generally begin with the police. Officers' decisions about how to handle these encounters are affected by their on-the-spot assessments of young people's proclivity for delinquency, prospects for rehabilitation, and overall moral character. And because most police-citizen interactions…

The issue of preschool discipline disproportionality continues to garner national attention. This paper outlines challenges associated with disproportionate disciplinary practices and specific roles for school psychologists in addressing the complex issues related to preschool discipline disproportionality.

This publication provides an overview of the literature on school safety in the United States, with a focus on equity. Using the framework developed by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), this publication situates a comprehensive school safety approach as a balance of three key elements: physical safety, school climate, and student behavior,…

The Zero Tolerance policy was intended to eliminate learners who are a danger to a learning institution (Henson, 2012). The development of this policy was to assist schools with better policing approaches of students conducts by employing tough disciplinary action and subsequently provide a safer learning environment. While the Zero Tolerance…

Many students in our school system are being forced out of the classroom due to harsh discipline policies focused on rules rather than the child and the contextualized infraction. These policies punish them by taking away the very thing that could possibly change their lives, their education. The way we deal with behavior issues in the classroom…