Youth vaping is a concern and schools may use many approaches to discipline students caught vaping at school. This study identified the prevalence of school staff seeing vaping in schools and the measures used to discipline students. A state-wide sample of 7,938 staff from 255 middle and high schools reported whether they saw any students vaping…

Decades of research in the field of psychology explores public school environments, however it was only recently that psychologists and mental health professionals have begun incorporating themselves into school communities directly. While research has examined the use of retributive and restorative methods, little quantitative research identifies…

The overuse and misuse of exclusionary and punitive discipline practices in schools have been consistently linked to social and educational inequities across the globe, particularly for students of color. However, there is an ongoing need for a greater understanding of how school climate factors (e.g., adult-student relationships, racial climate)…

Although numerous studies have shown that child obesity is associated with internalizing symptoms, relatively few studies have examined the role of parenting behaviors on this relationship. Youth meeting obesity status may be at higher risk of psychosocial maladjustment when exposed to more vulnerable parenting contexts. The current study…

Many public urban K-12 schools are in neighborhoods that struggle with systemic social injustices that include poverty, racism, violence, and lack of meaningful opportunities. These realities threaten students' success in school and contribute to injustices in the school system, such as disproportionality in discipline for students of color. In…

Social scientists are generally in agreement that spanking is not an especially effective method of discipline and is associated with a variety of behavioral and mental health problems in children. Interventions that have focused on disseminating this empirical research have met with some success in changing pro-spanking attitudes. However, given…

Minority students and students with disabilities are disciplined disproportionately from their peers. Discipline has led to many negative consequences in the lives of youth in the United States, including the school-to-prison pipeline. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance encouraging school districts to develop policies that…

Research shows that students who experience discipline that removes them from the classroom are more likely to repeat a grade, drop out of school, and become involved in the juvenile justice system. This can result in decreased earning potential and added costs to society (lost tax revenue and incarceration). The Government Accountability Office…

This report provides a comprehensive review of the literature on restorative justice in U.S. schools. The review captures key issues, describes models of restorative justice, and summarizes results from studies conducted in the field. The review was conducted on research reports and other relevant literature published, or made publicly available,…

Nelson Mandela's adage, "I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends" captures the profoundly inclusive nature of restorative justice (RJ). The hallmark of RJ is intentionally bringing together people with seemingly diametrically opposed viewpoints--particularly people who have harmed with people who have been harmed--in a carefully…

Three hundred residents of the Pomona Valley area, near Los Angeles, were surveyed about their attitudes towards child discipline techniques. The residents were also asked to report on the punishment methods they practice with their children. Results from 102 returned questionnaires indicated that most people were moderate in their attitudes…

The document reported an investigation into the Guadalupe Union School District in the spring 1972 by the California State Advisory Committee (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights). Complaints prompting the investigation dealt with (1) poor quality education not geared to meet the needs of Mexican American child, (2) failure to hire bilingual…

This guide has been prepared to assist school districts in self-appraisal of their policies governing discipline and control of violence and vandalism, and also to facilitate the development of new policies by providing model policies and procedures implemented in other school districts. Accordingly, the first section lists guidelines for policies…