ARCHIVED ARTICLES

 

Week of January 28, 2011

What Works in Education: Unique discipline program, THV
Reporting on an alternative discipline program being used in Houston, students are not suspended, but they have to visit the principal every day.

Superintendent defends schools’ discipline programs, Decatur Daily
Disparities in school discipline are at issue in a case in Decatur, Georgia determining whether the desegregation order there will be lifted.

Training helps defuse student anger in U46, The Courier-News
A report from Elgin, Illinois where staff training in how to diffuse student conflicts has had a dramatic impact on school discipline incidents.

Student’s Death Opens Old Wounds, Oakton Patch
Student death stirs up Fairfax, The Washington Post
Fairfax school disciplinary policies scrutinized after apparent suicide, The Washington Post
In Virginia, a student’s suicide is linked to having been expelled from school, and it is prompting a reexamination of punitive school discipline policies.

City police: Bad student behavior is just that, New Hampshire Union Leader
The police in Manchester, NH say that while schools may take mental illness and disability into account when disciplining youth, the police won’t.

Calcasieu teachers address discipline issues at board meeting, KPLC
Teachers at one Louisiana parish are calling for stricter school discipline policies.

Longmont hosts restorative justice summit, Longmont Times-Call
In Longmont, Colorado, a local restorative justice organization convened a restorative justice summit that drew students from across the country.  The success of the program in Denver and other places is part of the story.

HC principals report progress at schools, The Tallapoosa Journal
A Georgia school district has found that taking steps to better engage students in learning leads to reduced discipline referrals and higher student achievement.

Furor as teen faces rap for ‘assaulting’ middle school teacher with comb, NY Daily News
A student in NYC was arrested for “assaulting” her teacher with a comb.

School board adds sex offense to Zero Tolerance, The Daily News Journal
A district in Tennessee is about to make sexual misconduct into a “zero tolerance” offense leading to automatic expulsion.

Federal lawsuit claims Lebanon School District’s truancy policies are abusive, excessive and punitive, The Patriot-News
More reporting on the challenge to truancy policies in Lebanon, PA.

Pa. school district sued over truancy fines, The Associated Press
The AP has picked up the story of the NAACP and PILC suing a Pennsylvania school district over its truancy fine policy.

Oklahoma 1st Grader Suspended for Hand “Gun,” Opposing Views
A student in Oklahoma was suspended for making a gun shape with his hands.

Opinions/Editorials

Disrupting Class? Get a Ticket, Go To Court, Care2
Still more coverage of Texas Appleseed’s recent report on the overuse of tickets and arrests in Texas.

Lawyer for alleged Detroit rapist says half a lifetime in prison made his client ‘a monster,’ mlive.com
A story from Michigan about the scarring and deeply damaging effects of the criminal justice system and incarceration.

Zero-tolerance bans on weapons in school lacks common sense, Sun Sentinel
The Sun-Sentinel in Florida has an editorial calling out zero tolerance school weapons policies as lacking in common sense and unnecessarily harsh.

 

Week of January 21, 2011

Schools Seek The Right Punishment, New Haven Independent
A very interesting article recounting the recent visit of New Haven school officials to Baltimore to observe how they deal with discipline.  The article describes an in depth look at the discipline numbers across Baltimore schools.  It draws a distinction between New Haven, where students get an automatic nine day suspension for fighting, and Baltimore, where the new discipline policy and focus on keeping kids in school has succeeded in reducing suspensions district-wide.  The New Haven officials seemed convinced that they needed to try to do things differently.

Nebraska Legislature: Cyber-bullies Could Be Punished By School Districts, NE StatePaper.com
In Nebraska, the state senate is moving to punish students for cyber bullying.

NAACP to sue Lebanon schools, Lebanon Daily News
The NAACP is set to sue the school district in Lebanon, PA over its truancy policy that disproportionately targets students of color.

Modesto City lags in switch to in-school discipline strategies, The Modesto Bee
A report on Modesto, CA’s slow movement away from out-of-school suspensions.

Dud grenades, toy guns test Broward zero-tolerance policy, Sun Sentinel
In Broward County, FL, a student brought a dud grenade to school, challenging the district’s weapon’s policy.

Jersey for Steelers, not Seahawks, nets Tacoma boy school discipline, The Bellingham Herald
A student from Tacoma, WA was sent home for wearing a Steeler’s jersey on a day when the school relaxed the dress code to allow folks to wear Seahawks jerseys.

Survey Shows Black Community Pessimistic About Status of Black Children, Kansas City infoZine
A survey sponsored by the Children’s Defense Fund shows that the Black community is more pessimistic about conditions for Black children than 16 years ago, when a similar study was conducted.

Ansonia Launches High School Boot Camp, Valley Independent Sentinel
In Ansonia, CT, if you get in trouble you can either go to court or to boot camp first thing in the morning.

Norwich forum to discuss problem of youth violence, theday.com
Norwich, CT is holding a forum to discuss violence in schools and discipline on February 3, 2011.

School safety, discipline goals off track, Maryland Gazette
The number of discipline referrals in Anne Arundel County, MD schools has decreased, but not by enough to reach their five-year target.

Opinions/Editorials

Only in America: Cops giving tickets to 6-year-olds, The Week
Texas Appleseed’s recent report on kids being arrested and ticketed for minor offenses has made its way into the mainstream media.

 

Week of January 14, 2011

Report says zero-tolerance discipline makes Philly schools less safe, Philadelphia Inquirer
Zero Tolerance in Schools: Good Or Bad?, myfoxphilly.com
Report: Schools zero-tolerance policy too harsh, Philadelphia Daily News
New report blasts school zero tolerance policies, NewWorks.org
YUC report says zero tolerance a failure, The Notebook
Student Push Schools On Zero-Tolerance Policy, myfoxphilly.com
Youth United for Change and Advancement Project released a report, Zero Tolerance in Philadelphia, outlining the school to prison pipeline in Philadelphia.  The report documents how zero tolerance and harsh discipline policies are funneling students towards prison and not graduation.  It also highlights the fact that these policies disproportionately affect students of color.

Schools ‘wrap’ troubled kids, Illinois Times
A district in Illinois where PBIS had been working is running into problems funding the program.

Norwich forum to discuss problem of youth violence, theday.com
Norwich, CT convenes a meeting on youth violence.

Little Egg Harbor Township student, ACLU challenge zero-tolerance drug policy, Press of Atlantic City
A student from NJ is challenging his district’s zero tolerance drug policy with the help of the ACLU.

More students arrested and cited for misdemeanors, report says, caller.com
Report: Improper Criminalization of Student Misbehavior Extends to School Bus, School Transportation News
An important report from Texas Appleseed shows that students in schools with more police get arrested and ticketed more.  This comes as no surprise, but it is a very important piece of documentation

Arizona Supreme Court: Student’s cursing isn’t a crime, East Valley Tribune
Yesterday the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a student cursing at a teacher is not a crime.  The Court said that the student could be suspended, but could not be criminalized for the act.

Study: With more police in schools, students in Dallas and other big Texas districts get more big tickets, The Dallas Morning News
An important report from Texas Appleseed shows that students in schools with more police get arrested and ticketed more.  This comes as no surprise, but it is a very important piece of documentation.

Schools’ tough job: Keeping kids in line, Omaha-World Herald
A profile of a school disciplinarian/counselor in a Catholic school in Nebraska.

Kern has state’s highest expulsion rate, Bakersfield.com
Kern County, California has the state’s highest expulsion rate.

District Eases Discipline Policy On Drugs, Principals Get More ‘Flexibility,’ The Baker County Press
Baker County, FL has changed its zero tolerance drug policy to a more graduated and case specific policy that gives principals more flexibility.

Security at Texas school district beefed up after another threat, CNN
The man who threatened students in Texas if school discipline did not improve wrote another threatening letter.

School’s tough stance draws ‘wide support,’ Bermuda Sun
Zero tolerance comes to Bermuda.

School Discipline Referrals Down, But Disparities Remain, Odenton Patch
Discipline referrals in Anne Arundel County, MD are down, but the racial disparities are persistent.

Suit challenges use of pepper spray on Birmingham, Alabama students, World Socialist Web Site
More coverage of SPLC’s suit against the Birmingham, AL school district for the police’s use of pepper spray.

Northwest Student Expelled After School Prank, wilx.com
More on a student recently expelled for playing a prank on her teacher with a pin.

Opinions/Editorials

Can we measure school climate?, The Washington Post
Jay Mathews asks how we can measure school climate – and notes that school discipline numbers often mask the real conditions in the hallways.

Finding efficiencies, but at what cost?, The Carrboro Citizen
An excellent article from North Carolina addressing the governor’s plan to merge a number of state agencies that deal with juveniles.  The article points out that it is a bad idea to ask people who are trained to arrest youth to also provide services to them.

 

Week of January 7, 2011

Letter threatens Texas school district, citing lack of discipline, CNN
A troubling story from Texas, where a man threatened students in school unless the district cracked down on school discipline.

Students Handcuffed, Police Say Officer Followed Policy, ktbs
In Louisiana, three days after a minor fight, two middle school students were handcuffed and arrested.

ACLU Seeks Records On School Practice of Handcuffing Children, KATC
The ACLU is looking into allegations that schools in Caddo Parish, LA have been handcuffing students.

Local District Part of Analysis, The Post-Journal
A school district in New York State deals with being selected by the DOE for Title VI review of their discipline policies.

Project seeks to reduce suspensions, The Daily Reflector
Pitt County, NC is starting a program aimed at offering alternatives to suspension and arrest in school.

Lunchbox mix-up leads to charges for Sanford Student, WRAL
Another alarming zero-tolerance horror story – this time from Sanford, NC where a girl was suspended for mistakenly bringing in her dad’s lunchbox (which had a penknife in it).

Rally held in support of Student Safety Act, Downtown Express
A report on the students (many from the Urban Youth Collaborative) who rallied in support of the Student Safety Act.

City Will Require Police to Report on School Arrests, The New York Times
City Council OKs bill to force release of information on school crime, safety, NY Daily News
In New York, the long awaited School Safety Act finally passed the city council unanimously.  The law requires schools and police to report more frequently and faithfully on student arrests, suspensions, and discipline.

After two years, Council moves to change school safety reports, Gotham Schools
The long awaited and long delayed School Safety Act passes unanimously.

Toledo police to remain in middle, high schools, Toledo Blade
After some fear that they would be taken out of the schools, Toledo SROs are going to remain there until the end of the year at least – although there will be four fewer of them.

School District spending restricted because of discipline disparity, Rockford Register Star
A very interesting article from Rockford, Illinois, where the state department of education is penalizing the district for ongoing racial disparities in school discipline.  The state has put pressure on the district to adopt alternatives to suspension such as PBIS.  This kind of state driven pressure to pay attention to racial disparities is interesting to see.

The Public Eye: Discipline at spruced-up schools improves – state funds increase, The Sacramento Bee
In Sacramento, there is some support for the idea that schools that have been renovated to be more welcoming environments have fewer discipline problems.

Group Urges Council To Pass Student Safety Act, NY1
Youth in NYC are rallying in support of the School Safety Act – a bill that has been tangled up in the city council for years but is coming up for a vote soon.  At the front of the picture is Advancement Project’s local partner, DRUM.

Thousands of students arrested by safety agents last year raises parents concerns, NY Daily News
The Daily News reports that more than 300 students have been arrested in NYC in the first three months of the school year.  The article is timed with the coming vote on the School Safety Act.

Restorative Justice in Schools, The Crime Report
‘Restorative Justice’ School Program Reduces Student Delinquency, Newswise
Justice, community and discipline in Oakland schools (Community Voices), Oakland Local
A great report out from UC Berkeley where researchers observed restorative justice in action for a year and concluded that it is a viable and effective alternative to harsh school discipline

Broward school board takes a closer look at zero tolerance policy, Sun Sentinel
Broward County in Florida is going to take a second look at its harsh zero tolerance policy for weapons.

Boulder DA: Police should step back away from school discipline, Daily Camera
This is an important article about the work of Padres y Jovenes Unidos in Denver.  The District Attorney in Boulder agrees that police in schools should be arresting and ticketing far fewer students and he supports the efforts underway to change the policies behind those practices.

Study: Gay Teens More Likely To Receive School Discipline, All Headline News
A Yale study shows that homosexual youth are more likely to be disciplined in school than their heterosexual peers.

Alabama students sue authorities over alleged police brutality, The Telegraph
SPLC’s suit in Birmingham has picked up international attention.

Harlem High School discipline reports take dive, Rockford Register Star
More good news on the implementation of PBS is Rockford, IL, where there had been a huge uproar last year.

Students Say Schools’ Use of Mace Creates a ‘Police State’ in Birmingham, Courthouse News Service
Students in Birmingham AL say that cops’ use of mace creates a police state.

SPLC takes state-run N.O. schools to task, KATC
The Southern Poverty Law Center is complaining about school discipline in New Orleans.

Opinions/Editorials

The New Jim Crow, The American Prospect
A great column from Michelle Alexander, which compares the entire criminal justice system to Jim Crow laws.

School reform math in Baltimore: Fewer suspensions equals better results, The Washington Post
A great op-ed from Open Society Institute-Baltimore that links the district’s drop in use of out-of-school suspensions with its increased graduation rate.

The Police and the Schools, The New York Times
The Times has an excellent editorial which praises the council for passing the law, notes the national movement to stop the criminalization of youth in schools, and urges the council to “ride herd” on the police and the DOE to ensure that they actually make the changes that the data demand.

Revamping Juvenile Justice Is Long, Difficult Road, WNYC
Mayor Bloomberg in NYC wants to revamp the juvenile justice detention policies to keep youth closer to home.

Zero Tolerance Should Not Replace Common Sense, Ammo Land
Even “ammoland” agrees that zero tolerance policies don’t make sense.

Ticketing for Truancy: Improvement or Imprisonment?, New American Media
An important story on truancy tickets in LA.  The article quotes Manuel Criollo from the Community Rights Campaign (and the Labor/Community Strategy Center) breaking down how crazy it is to issue students up to a $900 ticket for being late to class.  The piece also makes the seemingly obvious argument that ticketing students for being late makes it more likely that they won’t show up at all, if showing up will just buy them a ticket.

Hoodlums, The Atlantic
A truly shocking statistic – African American males alone (that is Black men in American jails) make up 8% of the world’s prison population.

High-school hunter faces expulsion over gun locked in trunk, World Net Daily
Another story about a student in high school with a weapon in her car for hunting who gets tangled in a zero tolerance policy.

Break the neighborhood-to-prison cycle, Detroit Free Press
An article from Detroit calling for an end to the “Neighborhood to Prison Pipeline.”