In the traditional model of student conduct adjudication, a finding of responsibility often results in prescribed punitive and/or educational outcomes, which may not resonate with the student or evoke deeper learning. Following a student's acceptance of responsibility, the Appreciative Inquiry process provides a highly personal, forward-thinking…

Current approaches used by educational institutions to address the problem of student cheating are not working. This is because the discourse of academic integrity that currently dominates is, on its own, inadequate for addressing the problem. We propose that in order for higher education institutions to challenge cheating effectively, they need…

Students sometimes engage in challenging behaviors that require teachers to select and design appropriate behavior management interventions. Teachers may choose from various evidence-based intervention strategies when addressing students' challenging behaviors. Reinforcement-based strategies are preferred due to their desirable long-term outcomes.…

The U.S. Department of Education defines physical restraints as a restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability to move torso, arms, legs, or head freely. Because of the inherent dangers of physical restraints, their use is strictly regulated in most hospitals, prisons, and public law enforcement settings. Although students have died in…

Most late policies involve some type of initial large deduction when an assignment is late, followed by subsequent deductions around a certain interval. In many cases, instructors will select 24 hours as their interval. While this type of late policy is common, it can be criticized for being too punitive. Moreover, large intervals can encourage…

Restraint and seclusion are frequently misused in schools, leading to harmful outcomes for students. There is currently no federal law regulating these practices, which has led to inconsistencies in state and district policies. This policy paper aims to provide a brief background on current definitions, case law, and policies and provide teachers…

In 2019, about 22% of U.S. students ages 12-18 reported being bullied, with a higher percentage of female students than male students reporting victimization. Recent empirical reports indicate that students with disabilities are more likely to experience bullying and be punished for bullying. Bullying has been linked to increased risk for…

The negative effects of bullying in school are substantial, yet educators trying to intervene face significant barriers. Such obstacles include ineffective intervention techniques and perceptual bias that gets in the way of recognizing bullying. Promising ways to overcome these barriers include the following strategies: using intervention methods…

Abolition is a verb, referencing how people build safe conditions while dismantling (and developing solutions beyond) harmful institutions, including within education. Considering disability justice movement work in our roles as teacher educators, we explored how we might contend with the harmful purposes and functions of educational structures as…

In this article Matthew B. Kautz theorizes schools as unique carceral institutions with the capacities to criminalize, surveil, discipline, and punish and demonstrates how they have mobilized these unique abilities to establish social control. By tracing the development of school disciplinary policy and practice following "Brown v. Board of…

Long-time educator Dr. Sidney Trubowitz recalls his years as an elementary school student in the late 1930s. His teachers were rigid, students were taught to be quiet and compliant, and Trubowitz learned to follow instructions without questioning them. When one teacher went too far with her discipline, his mother, an immigrant, stood up for him --…

Through innovation in research and self-correction, it is inevitable that some practices will be replaced or be discredited for one reason or another. De-implementation of discredited and low-value practices is a necessary step for school psychologists' maintenance of evidence-based practices and to reduce unnecessary costs and risk. However,…

Tennessee Coordinated School Health (CHS) connects physical, emotional and social health with education through eight inter-related components. This coordinated approach improves students' health and their capacity to learn through the support of families, communities, and schools working together. Physical education and physical activity create…

Howard's moral fortification theory of criminal punishment lends itself to justifying correction for children in schools that is supportive. There are good reasons to include other students in the learning opportunity occasioned by doing right in response to wrong, which need not exploit the wrongdoing student as a mere means. Care ethics can…

In a 2018 study conducted by Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), school mental health experts screened close to 3,000 LAUSD students and determined "almost half (48%) of the students were found to be at-risk for traumatic stress, which manifests in behaviors [such as emotional outbursts, arguments and defiance] that impede…