There’s a growing realization that when students are suspended, the next step after an early exit from school is often an early entry into the justice system. Public Counsel Education Rights Director Laura Faer writes at California Progress Report that “civil rights advocates, judges and law enforcement sometimes wind up on different sides of the ... Read More
You may be aware that students with disabilities, like ADHD and other behavioral or emotional diagnoses, find it challenging to meet basic classroom behavioral expectations. Unfortunately, there is little research on ADHD and ethnicity, but according to Heather Jones, assistant professor of clinical psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, studies suggest that “teachers generally perceive African American ... Read More
Meet Claudia: She was suspended from various schools. After being suspended several times for being late or engaging in verbal fights because others made fun of her, Claudia left the school. At 12 years old, this young woman witnessed the murder of his sister. She needed help, but no one offered. You can read more about the new educational revolution in Latino Voices to help students like Claudia.
Kerry Callahan, principal of Pioneer High School in Woodland, California, has met students who need counseling, instead of a suspension, which would make them fall behind in class. Ms. Callahan believes that the practice of suspending students has gotten out of hand. She saw that her community was hungry for change and thus, implemented a ... Read More
The Center for Public Integrity obtained data showing that officers the nation’s largest school police force issued the equivalent of 28 tickets every day to students in 2011. Judge Michael Nash, who presides over Los Angeles’ juvenile courts, believes incidents should be handled in schools or through counselings or meetings with parents outside court. This ... Read More
San Francisco Chief of Police Gregory Suhr recently submitted a letter to the editor in the San Francisco Examiner on school discipline and restorative practices entitled, Making Kids Feel Safe Keeps Them in School. In the article, Suhr refers to studies which show that “kids who stay in school live ten years longer and make ... Read More
Students United to Create a Climate of Engagement , Support and Safety (S.U.C.C.E.S.S.) empowers students to partner with schools and communities to develop comprehensive and sustainable strategies for engagement, support, and safety at school. Over the last year, youth and adults have partnered through S.U.C.C.E.S.S. to develop strategies that promote a safe and participatory school ... Read More
The High HOPES (Healing Over the Punishment of Expulsions and Suspensions) Campaign, a Chicago-based campaign which aims to reduce suspensions and expulsions by 40%, issued a new report about restorative justice to talk about the long-term damaging effects suspensions and expulsions have on our youth. The report makes several key recommendations, which include the incorporation ... Read More
The Sacramento Bee published startling figures from the report released last week from the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at UCLA. Findings unveil that most of Sacramento’s region’s 15 largest districts “suspended black and Latino students at higher rates than white students in 2009-10.” Sacramento-area school officials interviewed have reaffirmed their commitment to keep students ... Read More
California legislators have taken a major step toward fixing harsh school discipline rules. On April 11, Education committees in the state Assembly and Senate passed seven separate bills that address some of the most serious problems. They heard powerful testimony from students, parents, educators, law enforcement, academics, and youth advocates about the need to change ... Read More
