We’re 1 Vote Away and the Clock Is Ticking

Parents, students and educators trekked to Sacramento from Los Angeles, Oakland, Vallejo, and all over California to tell legislators why bills to change school discipline rules are so critical. And in a marathon day and night of telling their stories to legislators they helped win the passage of 4 bills in key committee votes. Click ... Read More
 

Voices from Sacramento as Legislators Make Critical Votes

Parents, students and educators made the trek to Sacramento on July 27 from Los Angeles, Oakland, Vallejo, and all over California. They were there to tell legislators why bills to change school discipline rules are so critical. And in a marathon day and night of telling their stories to legislators they helped win the passage ... Read More
 

Real-Life Discipline Drama Heads to Sacramento

The school discipline story is often told in hard numbers: the 400,000 California students suspended every year, the 20% of students suspended by some school districts. Now a new play puts a human face on the impact of harsh discipline rules. The world premiere play ZERO from Cornerstone Theater Company features real-life stories from Sacramento ... Read More
 

Trying Out a Gentler Form of Discipline

A trial of their peers is one way students at Richmond High School take the issue of fixing school discipline into their hands. This and other new approaches to school discipline have cut the local district’s student suspensions in half over a six year period. In the 2004-05 academic year, suspensions totaled 14,421. By 2010-11, ... Read More
 

Send a Virtual Postcard: Don’t Let California Students Disappear

California legislators have taken a first step toward approving bills that would fix major problems with school discipline rules, improve data collection, and give educators more discretion before issuing out-of-school suspensions. But Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget would cut key protections for students. Click here to send a virtual postcard today and ask him to ... Read More
 
8 of 10 Bills to Change Harsh School Discipline Rules Move Ahead

8 of 10 Bills to Change Harsh School Discipline Rules Move Ahead

With the extraordinary support and an outpouring of calls and email letters, 8 of 10 bills supported by FixSchoolDiscipline.org cleared major hurdles in the California Legislature. Bills to change harsh school discipline laws and help stop the school to prison pipeline were approved by the Assembly and Senate after Californians made phone calls and sent ... Read More
 

Cal Progress Report: Uniting to Stop the Swinging Door of School Suspensions

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
 

We Need to Accommodate Disabled Students, Not Expel Them

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: Join the Education Revolution

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.