Rather than creating safer schools, punitive policies--such as zero-tolerance discipline policies--appear only to have created hostile learning environments. In response, many advocacy organizations have urged schools to adopt a human rights framework, including restorative practices. Schools with restorative approaches have noted dramatic…

Every day in New York City, between 90,000 and 100,000 young people, almost all of them Black and Latina/o, must show up to school thirty to forty-five minutes before their first class begins because they attend schools with metal detectors and scanners. School administrators and policymakers have accepted this scenario as part of Black and…

Middle and high school students subjected to harsh school discipline policies and practices such as suspensions and expulsions are more likely to disengage from the classroom and course work, and increases their chances of dropping out, according to this new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education. The report recommends implementing…

In New York City, middle school educators experience student behaviors that adversely affect the school environment and academic achievement. These middle school teachers indicate that the current traditional measures used to address these issues are ineffective. As a result, there is now an appeal from these middle school teachers to institute…