Alternatives to Harsh Discipline and Positive Solutions

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The DSC is compiling information about positive, effective models for creating safe and supportive schools. There are alternatives that can reduce reliance on punitive and exclusionary discipline practices, like suspensions and expulsions. Below are resources on two effective models: Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Restorative Practices.

Parents Protest Punitive Discipline in New York City Schools (Document)

by Juan Espinal and Jade Earle

Dozens of New York City public school students, parents and teachers stood up in downtown Manhattan late Tuesday evening to voice their opposition to the Department of Education's current disciplinary procedures.

Telling It Like It Is (Document)

Miami Youth Speak out on the School-to-Prison Pipeline.

Guia de Padre-a-Padre: Justicia Restaurativa en las Escuelas Publicas de Chicago (Document)

Estimados Amigos,

 

Para la mayoría de nuestros niños, “la disciplina escolar” ha significado ser suspendido o expulsado— empezando tan joven como kindergarten—siendo arrestado, hasta en la primaria—y terminando en las calles o en la cárcel—sin una educación.

Parent to Parent Restorative Justice Guide - English (Document)

Dear Friends,

 

For too many of our children, “school discipline” has meant getting suspended or expelled—starting as young as kindergarten—being arrested, even in grade school—and ending up on the streets or in jail—without an education.

 

(California) School-based Restorative Justice as an Alternative to Zero-Tolerance Policies: Lessons from West Oakland (Document)

Conducted by the UC Berkeley School of Law’s Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, this study is one of the first studies to closely examine the impact of restorative justice on an American inner-city school. Researchers spent one year observing a restorative justice program at the Cole Middle School in West Oakland, California, interviewing teachers, students, and parents.

Chicago Taskforce on Violence Against Girls & Young Women (Web Resource)

The Chicago Taskforce on Violence Against Girls & Young Women serves as a vehicle for addressing the following two questions: 1. How will we galvanize attention to the devastating violence plaguing the lives of girls and young women? 2. How will we marshal the public/political will to end the violence?

Diana Freelon-Foster, Activists With a Purpose, Calls for a Moratorium on Out of School Suspensions (Video)
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Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (Web Resource)

School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SW-PBS) is a system for supporting positive student behavior to improve school climate, and prevent and reduce disciplinary incidents.

Restorative Practices (Web Resource)

Restorative practices use a variety of informal and formal techniques, such as classroom circles, restorative conferences and fairness committees, to build a sense of school community and manage conflict by repairing harm and restoring positive relationships.

Solutions Not Suspensions: A Call for Moratorium on Out-of-School - Press Conference 8/21/2012 (Video)
See video


Restorative Justice and PBIS Fact Sheet (Document)

Learn more about the basics of Restorative Practices and Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports with this quick two-pager.