CTJJA : Issues : School discipline

Issues: School Discipline

Kids are more likely to be arrested, suspended or expelled from school than they were a generation ago – often for violating the same school rules that once meant a trip to the principal’s office.

Resources

Adult Decisions: CT Rethinks School Arrests

CTJJA’s 2013 report examining student arrests and steps communities can take to decrease them while improving safety and discipline.PDF

Arresting Development

Connecticut Voices for Children’s data-rich report on student arrests in Connecticut with details by town, race and other factors.
Executive summary PDF | Full report PDF

School-Based Diversion Initiative Toolkit

The SBDI Toolkit is a free resource for schools to help them manage behavioral issues and connect children to school and community-based mental health services using Connecticut's local Emergency Mobile Psychiatric Services (EMPS) teams. Schools addressing mental health concerns often see a decrease in student arrests, suspensions, expulsions and bullying, as well as an improvement in academic achievement, school climate and school safety. WEBSITE

Education Vs. Incarceration

Resource-rich site to help you get the most out of Connecticut Public Television’s excellent documentary. WEBSITE

Model MOA for police and schools

In order to reduce school-based arrests, Connecticut’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee developed a model Memorandum of Agreement for use between school districts and police departments. It articulates a sound vision of why it is important, and provides a concrete tool to use, including a graduated response model for different types of behavior – helping adults determine and agree on which specific behaviors warrant classroom intervention, administrative intervention, assessment and service provision, and lastly, law enforcement intervention. MS WORD, 102KB

Getting teenagers back to school: Rethinking
New York State’s response to chronic absence

This policy brief looks at New York State’s practices responding to chronically absent teenagers, particularly reporting and investigating a teen’s parent or guardian to the child protective system for allegations of educational neglect. Vera proposes that New York rethink this response to teens missing too much school and develop more effective alternatives. PDF, 561 KB

Addressing the Unmet Educational Needs of Children and Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems, May 2010

This Center for Juvenile Justice Reform report discusses the importance of education for children and adolescents who are exposed to either the foster care or delinquency system. It highlights that youth in foster care and those involved with the juvenile delinquency system do not receive the education services to which they are entitled to and, as a result, are less likely to achieve education milestones, earn diplomas, and experience the health and well-being associated with higher income and stable employment as adults. The paper offers suggestions for dealing with this issue like early intervention and literacy programs. PDF, 836 KB

CT Voices Report: Teaching Discipline - A Toolkit for Educators on Positive Alternatives to Out-of-School Suspensions, June 2010

This Connecticut Voices for Children report highlights the disciplinary alternatives to out-of-school suspensions that schools in Connecticut are implementing with tangible results. This report provides a “menu” or “toolkit” of potential options that educators can consider, adopt, or modify based on unique culture, resources, and needs of their school communities. PDF, 519 KB

CT Voices: Connecticut Takes Promising Steps Towards Enhancing Teacher Training in Classroom Management, April 2010

This Connecticut Voices for Children paper discusses the importance of classroom management training for teachers and what types of trainings are being done it Connecticut. PDF, 238 KB

School Wide Positive Behavior Supports

Presentation by George Sugai. PDF, 22.4 MB

The Right to Education in the Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems in the United States

Prepared by the Dignity in Schools campaign, this report examines to connection between education and the juvenile and adult justice system. As a result of their findings, they urge the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education to call on the United States government to live up to its commitment under human rights law to provide adequate access to and funding for quality educational programs in juvenile and adult correctional facilities. PDF, 118 KB

ACLU Report: Hard Lessons – SRO Programs and School-Based Arrests in 3 CT Towns, November 2008

Police arrests of students at Hartford-area schools are on the rise, according to a new American Civil Liberties Union report released, a trend that disproportionately impacts children of color. An ACLU report shows how the use by school districts of school resource officers who are not adequately trained and whose objectives are not clearly defined leads to the criminalization of students rather than their being educated. PDF, 673.21 KB

CDF Report: America’s Cradle to Prison Pipeline

A report from the Children’s Defense Fund. PDF, 2.12 MB

Child Trends Brief: A Guide to Assessing
and Increasing School Engagement, October 2008

Students who are disengaged from school are at risk for many poor outcomes beyond poor academic achievement. They are at risk of skipping classes, sexual activity, substance use, and ultimately dropping out of school. A new Child Trends brief provides information on why school engagement matters, how out-of-school time programs can affect school engagement, and how to measure engagement. The brief includes specific measures of school engagement from three surveys and a list of additional resources. PDF, 98.5 KB

CT Legal Services: Juvenile Justice and Special Education

This Powerpoint presentation from October 2006 discusses the connections among Special Education, Family with Service Needs cases, and Juvenile Justice. POWERPOINT, 153 KB

CT Voices Report: Suspending Students
from CT Schools, August 2008

This study of the use of out-of-school suspensions to discipline K-12 students suggests that out-of-school suspensions may be overused and counterproductive. Suspensions are common, and suspension rates vary widely among school districts. Students who are suspended are disproportionately those who need educational opportunities the most. The report points to research on school discipline practices which indicates that overreliance on suspensions is not only ineffective, but can be counterproductive in terms of student behavior and educational outcomes. PDF, 383.28 KB

In the News

Bazelon Center Backs Evidence-Based Alternatives to Increased Law Enforcement in Our Nation’s Schools

Bazelon Center release, March 28, 2013.WEBSITE

School arrests bring new scrutiny, reforms

New Haven Independent, Dec. 13, 2011.WEBSITE