This publication is concerned with how to keep schools safe. The spring 2000 issue "Zero Tolerance: Effective Policy or Display of Administrative Machismo?" (James W. Fiscus) discusses how difficult it is to determine just what zero tolerance means and reminds readers that schools were required to pass zero tolerance rules to remain…

This document contains preconference seminar outlines for the 47th Annual Education Law Association (ELA) Conference. The first of four sections, "Americans with Disabilities Act Update--Higher Education and Employees," by Christopher P. Borreca, presents legal issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act, an adequate definition…

This report presents research on educational equality in three California school districts. Most of the data came from a computerized survey instrument, the Racial Justice Report Card, which evaluates school districts on issues crucial to racial equality. Statistical data were supplemented with student interviews. Results show that African…

These 10 papers address current approaches to teacher leadership and behavior management. Each paper demonstrates a commitment to support classroom teachers with practical action research in such areas as discipline and behavior management, effective teaching, teacher leadership, working with students who show behavioral-emotional disorders, and…

This report provides Year 2 data comparing two types of school breakfast programs in Minnesota to schools that did not serve breakfast at all (No Breakfast schools): Fast Break to Learning, a universal free breakfast program (Fastbreak schools), and programs with a sliding fee scale (control schools). Data were collected from 30 Fastbreak, 195…

Approaching corporal punishment of children in school as a human-rights issue, this paper explores the impact of the European Court of Human Rights on education policy in Europe and the implications it raises for school policy in the United States. Simply stated, the court holds that students have legal rights that schools are obligated to…

The author defines "middle schoolism" as "an approach to educating children in the middle grades (usually grades 5-8), popularized in the latter half of the 20th century, that contributed to a precipitous decline in academic achievement among American early adolescents." She argues that many middle schools are on the right…

This report presents the findings of a study conducted by the Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP) on the second year of implementation of the Small Schools Initiative at the Manual High School Complex. The major goal of this research was to evaluate perceived progress and outcomes at all three high schools. The design and methodology…

Chinese University of Hong Kong students (n=844) each rated a "good" teacher and a "poor" teacher using a Chinese translation of the Students' Evaluations of Educational Quality (SEEQ) instrument. Good teachers were rated more favorably than poor teachers on all SEEQ scales, all SEEQ items were judged to be most important by at…

Written for teenage parents, this book is designed to help them use appropriate methods of discipline for their infants and toddlers. Chapter 1, "Discipline Is Important!" defines discipline and discusses the importance of setting limits. Chapter 2, "Infants and Discipline," concerns the importance of parents disciplining…

This theme issue focuses on programs and strategies aimed at developing crime-free, nonviolent, drug-free schools. "Alternative Education Programs: Resolution or Exclusion?" (Albert Cortez) describes alternative education programs mandated by Texas state legislation for serious student offenders, and related issues of assessment, due…

This collection of essays represents new scholarship in African American studies, drawing lessons from the past and providing insights into current intellectual trends. Topics such as the culture of America as a culture of race, legacies of slavery and colonialism, crime and welfare politics, and African American cultural studies are addressed.…

Alternative education programs for disruptive and at-risk students in Pennsylvania were studied to determine the characteristics that make such programs successful. This report presents the results of the analysis and lists model programs and other operating programs in Pennsylvania. Suspension and expulsion are stopgap solutions that relieve the…

This paper presents a composite of four separate research studies conducted to assess the impact of constitutional language on classroom environments. The studies were designed to examine the uses of "Judicious Discipline" in a variety of classrooms and how the use of a common language based on rights and responsibilities affected the…

This report identifies and describes schools with promising practices for preventing racial bias in school discipline, examining connections between the schools' approaches and actual discipline outcomes. The schools selected to be profiled exhibited positive cultural environments and meaningful approaches to discipline. All had predominantly…