Research Shows Zero Tolerance Doesn’t Work Study after study has shown that zero-tolerance discipline policies are harmful to all students and disproportionately affect students of color, students with disabilities and LGBTQ students. Recently, the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit center that studies justice policy recently released a report, “A Generation Later: What We’ve ... Read More
There’s positive news from San Francisco about the role of police on campus. Community groups have come together to promote a new agreement between San Francisco police and schools that will reduce arrests on campus and the troubling racial gap that happens as a result. UPDATE: The San Francisco Unified School District approved the final ... Read More
U.S. education and justice leaders have joined forces to say that school discipline discrimination puts students civil rights and learning at risk. Suspension and expulsion should be the last school discipline choice for America’s students, according to guidance for school leaders announced today by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Attorney General Eric ... Read More
As data shows 77% of suspended SF students are African American or Latino, the Safe and Supportive Schools Resolution would end suspensions for “willful defiance” and provide a system and plan to support schools in applying alternatives to harsh discipline. Read our press release: SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco Unified School District has taken a ... Read More
SB 744 veto – statement for Fix School Discipline On Saturday, Governor Brown vetoed a bill that you all fought hard for and that would have helped thousands of the state’s most vulnerable students. Under California law, students who are recommended for expulsion can make their case to stay in school. This is a life-changing ... Read More
Students, parents, educators, law enforcement members, judges, civil rights leaders, and community members won’t stop the fight against school suspensions for willful defiance after Assemblyman Roger Dickinson said he will wait to send AB 420 to the Governor until after the New Year. Assemblyman Dickinson said he wants more time to educate school leaders about ... Read More
Saying “school discipline is a civil rights issue,” students from across California told powerful personal stories about school suspensions in a rally on August 14 on the steps of the Capitol in Sacramento. They joined the nation’s top civil rights leaders including Rev. Jesse Jackson and Marian Wright Edelman who sent a letter urging Gov. ... Read More
Will you join youth who are standing up for civil rights? On August 14, youth from different parts of California will lead a rally in Sacramento to ask Governor Jerry Brown to meet with young people to understand why it is critical that he stand with them to fix our inequitable school discipline laws and ... Read More
Out-of-school suspensions are on the rise across the country, a troubling statistic when you consider being suspended just once ups a student’s chances of dropping out entirely. That’s why many districts are hoping to keep kids in school by trying an alternative to suspension. The “conflict-resolution room” at Ypsilanti High School in Michigan is quiet and ... Read More
5.23.13 Even though many of you know that our policy work is focused on California, school districts all across the country are making moves from punitive to restorative justice practices, positive behavioral intervention and support, and social emotional learning in their schools. We want to include school districts that are beginning to have these important ... Read More
