In 2012, the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights Division, presented a report titled "Revealing New Truths About Our Nation's Schools." This lengthy and detailed report delineated the increasing problem of young African American males being suspended and expelled from school, thus robbing them of an opportunity to fully…

Challenging behaviors can significantly alter the learning environment of any classroom. Traditionally, schools have implemented practices that remove the offending student from the classroom, deliver punitive disciplinary actions, or refer the student to special education evaluation. Unfortunately, such practices have demonstrated little…

The current study investigates the influence of situational context on perceptions of playful aggression. Using an online data collection instrument embedded with video vignettes showing young boys engaged in aggressive play behaviour, 36 situational profiles that are defined by the unique combinations of variables believed to influence attitudes…

Background: Developing and implementing policies to curb and prevent youth tobacco use is of the utmost importance. In Florida, public school districts were authorized to develop tobacco-free school policies through an amendment to the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act in 2011. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of tobacco-free school…

Restorative practices statistically replicate racial inequality in discipline, even while reducing overall school suspension rates and improving school climate. To understand why, the researcher conducted a year-long, multi-case ethnography examining restorative practices at three public secondary small schools in New York City. All three school…

The focus of this dissertation is on the impact that zero tolerance policies have had on public education, and the need for an alternative approach to addressing student discipline. This research study introduces restorative practices as an alternative approach that has shown to be successful in changing school culture, by building positive…

These are the appendixes for the report, "Changes in Exclusionary and Nonexclusionary Discipline in Grades K-5 Following State Policy Reform in Oregon" (ED610682). Students in grades K-5 who receive exclusionary discipline are more likely to experience chronic absenteeism, academic failure, and disciplinary problems throughout their…

Horrific events such as the fatal shooting of three high school students in Chardon, Ohio, in the winter of 2012 places tremendous pressure on state and local agencies to ensure that schools provide a safe and conducive learning environment for all students. To help curb school violence, schools have adopted zero-tolerance policies, which often…

The "Brown v. Board of Education" Supreme Court's unanimous decision (1954) held promise for many African American children and youth. Sixty years after "Brown," racial disparities in school discipline have garnered national attention in the professional literature. This article extends the post-Brown discourse beyond the…

Bullying has been around for ages, but in the past decade it has been in the spotlight because of suicidal deaths and a push for legislation to put these bullies behind bars. Numerous national surveys report that a large percentage of bullying in schools is a form of direct bullying. Recently all but one state has now enacted harsher anti-bullying…

Youth with disabilities are at a higher risk for involvement in the juvenile justice system. Why is this true, and what should parents and caregivers know about this issue? This series of five briefs answers these questions and provides parents with steps for protecting their children's rights in both the education and the court systems.

The causal link between educational exclusion and criminalization of youth is called the "school-to-prison pipeline." This is a byproduct of "zero tolerance" polices that have been widely discredited by research (APA, 2008; Skiba, 2014). However, these practices are still widespread in the United States and have been exported…

While acknowledging the discursive constitution of student identities through the interplay of unequal power relations and discriminatory processes, the article discusses the ways in which social, emotional and behaviour difficulties (SEBD) are "produced" and "managed" within current schooling. SEBD are routinely framed in…

The zero tolerance policy movement across most of this country's school districts significantly limited school personnel's disciplinary alternatives for students who break rules on campus. This has resulted in millions of primary and secondary age students who have experienced suspension, arrests, and for some, expulsion. Within the student…

Several studies identify inequitable educational outcomes for students from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. For example, when compared to White/Caucasian students, such students are more likely to be disciplined in school settings. School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) is an intervention likely to improve disproportionate…