Over the past several decades, public schools across the United States have experienced an increasingly visible diversity rift between student enrollment and teaching faculty. The number of students from diverse backgrounds continues to grow while educator ranks continue to become more homogeneous. This diversity rift presents several challenges…

What evidence supports the call for discipline reform? How might alternative strategies affect students and schools? In this article, the authors describe the critiques of exclusionary discipline and then examine the research base on which discipline policy reform rests. They also describe the alternative approaches that are gaining traction in…

This paper reports the findings from a systematic review of research evidence on the use of managed moves as an alternative to exclusion in UK schools. The review begins by discussing the political landscape of school exclusion, the concept of managed moves and their use with children and young people (CYP) 'at risk' of permanent exclusion. During…

In this article, the authors trace the course of school discipline over the past 20 years and examine the status of school discipline reform today. They begin with an examination of zero-tolerance, suspension, and expulsion policies, as well as their assumptions and effects. They discuss alternatives that have been proposed and the guidance that…

In urban school districts across the USA there are mandates to implement zero tolerance policies. As this occurs, there is an increasing number of students, specifically students of colour, who are being jettisoned out of the educative process. When school principals have little autonomy regarding how they handle disciplinary infractions within…

This article presents a moral analysis of the limitations upon legitimate authority to suspend and expel students in K-12 public schools, and it brings this analysis to bear on a pair of difficult disciplinary cases. The analysis is grounded in a defense of a child's right to receive a public education. It identifies the minimum content of that…

One frequently held assumption found within the school discipline literature suggests that students of color- particularly African American, male, low-income populations- are at an increased risk of receiving exclusionary discipline sanctions. Aside from race, gender, and socioeconomic status; however, less is known about other factors that…

This article addresses the substantial changes that Congress made in the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act concerning discipline of students with disabilities. It analyzes both the procedural and substantive requirements related to suspending students, expelling students, and conducting functional behavioral…

The question of what to do with aggressive students has plagued schools since mandatory attendance laws were passed. At the present time, many practitioners are using tactics for aggressive students that may not effectively remediate the problem, and research and practice do not seem to be in harmony regarding disciplinary options for aggressive…

This resource guide is designed to assist practitioners in implementing the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as they make decisions regarding the education placements of students with disabilities who exhibit dangerous behaviors. In addition, suggestions are included to assist schools in developing plans to…