Implementing Alternatives to Suspension and Expulsion
Skiba, Russell, et al, “Preventing School Violence: A Practical Guide to Comprehensive Planning,” The Safe and Responsive Schools Project, Indiana Education Policy Center.
The purpose of this guide is to present examples of effective strategies for violence prevention and to provide information about how they can best be implemented. It concludes that a proactive, early response approach is more effective than a reactive, zero–tolerance approach. The guide includes a section on the negative effects of zero tolerance, concluding that there is no evidence that punishment and exclusion can in and of themselves solve problems of school violence or teach students alternatives to violence. The authors note that the zero tolerance approach has led to an increase in the use of school suspension and expulsion, but that there is no evidence that suspension and expulsion are effective in changing student behavior or improving school safety. The next section then proceeds to describe some alternatives to suspension and expulsion including: in school disciplinary alternatives, restitution, anger management, individual behavior plans, alternative disciplinary methods (teen court, restorative justice, etc), alternative settings, and community team approaches.
Relevant Link: http://www.indiana.edu/~safeschl/psv.pdf