scholarly journals The Law, Policy, and Portrayal of Zero Tolerance School Discipline: Examining Prevalence and Characteristics Across Levels of Governance and School Districts

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Chris Curran
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Zero Tolerance ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
State Laws ◽  
District Policy ◽  
Discipline Policies ◽  
Media Portrayal ◽  
Laws And Policies

Reform of school zero tolerance discipline policies is complicated by a lack of systematic evidence on the prevalence and characteristics of such policies. Through document analysis, this study compares explicit zero tolerance laws/policies and mandatory expulsion laws/policies across the domains of federal law, state law, district policy, and media portrayal. Results suggest that explicit zero tolerance laws and policies are rare, appearing in less than one in seven states or districts, whereas mandatory expulsion laws/policies are more common. Districts serving high proportions of minority students as well as districts consisting only of charter schools are more likely to have mandatory expulsion policies for certain offenses. Additionally, district zero tolerance policies apply to a broader set of offenses than state laws. Finally, state and district laws/policies tend to not apply to minor offenses to the degree suggested by media coverage. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

RTI Confusion in the Case Law and the Legal Commentary

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perry A. Zirkel
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
State Laws ◽  
District Policy ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Education Interventions ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Specific Learning

This article expresses the position that the current legal commentary and cases do not sufficiently differentiate response to intervention (RTI) from the various forms of general education interventions that preceded it, thus compounding confusion in professional practice as to legally defensible procedures for identifying children as having a specific learning disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). After providing the legal framework for RTI in terms of IDEA and corresponding state laws, including the generally agreed on key components, the article canvasses examples of this confusion in recent case law and the legal commentary—extending even to legal publisher classifications—concerning this case law. The recommendation, starting with local school district policy and practice, is for clear and defensible differentiation that maintains, with fidelity, the integrity of RTI.

scholarly journals Outdoor Play and Learning: Policy and Practice

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Burriss ◽  
Larry Burriss
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
Outdoor Play ◽  
Outdoor Learning ◽  
Outdoor Activity ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
District Policy ◽  
Trend Data ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Outdoor Experiences

This study describes national school district policy and practice regarding elementary school children's outdoor learning and play. District representatives from 173 randomly selected school districts completed questionnaires describing policy and practice related to recess, outdoor play, outdoor curricular studies, playground materials, ADA accessibility, and administrative support. Quantitative analyses indicate that although the largest proportion of school districts overall reported maintaining the same amount of outdoor activity time, more school districts reported decreasing time spent outdoors than school districts that reported increasing children's time outside. There were no significant differences in variables across the three different-sized school districts. These data are congruent with other findings indicating that decreasing children's outdoor time is a national trend. Data suggest administrators’ greater support for outdoor play and learning than previously identified. These findings are discussed as an opening dialogue between administration and teachers to plan for children’s quality outdoor experiences.

Estimating the Effect of State Zero Tolerance Laws on Exclusionary Discipline, Racial Discipline Gaps, and Student Behavior

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Chris Curran
Keyword(s):  
Problem Behaviors ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Zero Tolerance ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Suspension Rates ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
Discipline Policies ◽  
Nationally Representative

Zero tolerance discipline policies have come under criticism as contributors to racial discipline gaps; however, few studies have explicitly examined such policies. This study utilizes data from two nationally representative data sources to examine the effect of state zero tolerance laws on suspension rates and principal perceptions of problem behaviors. Utilizing state and year fixed effects models, this study finds that state zero tolerance laws are predictive of a 0.5 percentage point increase in district suspension rates and no consistent decreases in principals’ perceptions of problem behaviors. Furthermore, the results indicate that the laws are predictive of larger increases in suspension rates for Blacks than Whites, potentially contributing to the Black–White suspension gap. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

The Berlin Socialist Trials of 1896: An Examination of Civil Liberty in Wilhelmian Germany

1986 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor L. Turk
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Civil Liberty ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
State Laws ◽  
Political Associations ◽  
National Constitution

Punctually at 8:00 A.M. on 26 November 1895, teams of police officers in Berlin began to search the homes of nearly eighty members of the Social Democratic Party, and the city offices of their organizations. These surprise raids, over by 10:00 a.m., were ordered by the Prussian Minister of Interior, Ernst Köller, to obtain evidence that the Socialist organizations had been working with one another to promote their political goals. In 1895 it was illegal in Prussia, and in most of the other states of the German Empire, for political associations of any kind to work together. Yet the evidence so efficiently confiscated on that gray November morning ultimately put not only the Socialists on trial, but government policy and the fundamental political rights of German citizens as well. Neither the national constitution nor the federal law codes provided protection for the rights of association or assembly at that time. In the absence of such guarantees, the political organizations had to cope with the particularities of the various state laws.

scholarly journals Leading with Justice: Afterword and Next Steps

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Editorial Board
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
California State University ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
State University ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Community Groups

   The term justice has become a catchphrase in education, used often and yet still evasive. In an attempt to define justice in research, policy, and practice, the California State University, Sacramento Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership invited preeminent scholars into the conversation through a public webinar series. Hundreds of people tuned in to listen and learn—some sessions having over 350 active participants. The attendees represented a unique cross-section of stakeholders: about 1/3 from universities, 1/3 from school districts, and 1/3 from community groups. Each webinar began and closed with music (e.g., Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now) that curated and uplifted the virtual space. Local spoken word artists were also invited 

Perception and practice

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor Gall
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Union Leader ◽  
The Public ◽  
Trade Unionism ◽  
British Trade ◽  
Media Portrayal

As the ‘most recognised face of British trade unionism’, Crow was subject to more media coverage and hostile scrutiny than any other union leader. This provides not only an opportunity to contrast the public portrayal with the more complex reality behind the headlines but also to examine the veracity of the media’s own perceptions and those of others about the RMT. This chapter begins by looking at his media portrayal before considering some of the popular myths about him. This is followed by a comparison with Knapp and examining the interplay of leadership, democracy, effectiveness and identity.

Racial Disproportionalities in Discipline

2016 ◽  
pp. 149-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Chris Curran
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Racial Disparities ◽  
School Safety ◽  
Zero Tolerance ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Student Safety ◽  
History Of

Student safety represents an important goal for schools; however, policies designed to facilitate school safety may have unintended negative consequences. Zero tolerance policies, those that mandate severe punitive measures, have been widely implemented by school leaders over the last several decades; however, recent research suggests that such policies may contribute to racial disparities in the use of discipline. This chapter reviews the history of zero tolerance policies in schools and, through descriptive analysis of data from the Civil Rights Data Collection of 2011-2012, documents racial disparities in the use of expulsions. Findings suggest that while zero tolerance policies may contribute to such disparities, the racial disparities are more pronounced for non-zero tolerance expulsions. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Virtue Jurisprudence and the Case of Zero-Tolerance Discipline in U.S. Public Education Policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 514-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian G. Sellers ◽  
Bruce A. Arrigo
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public School ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
School Discipline ◽  
Zero Tolerance ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Judicial Decision Making ◽  
Textual Data ◽  
Public Education Policy

This article empirically investigates how the humanistic critique at the core of virtue jurisprudence can illuminate the laws of captivity at the level of judicial decision making. One point of reference is the set of cases that makes up the constitutional challenges to and the resolutions of zero-tolerance public school discipline. These court decisions establish the conditions under which this strategy represents a legitimate and protected exercise of U.S. education policy and practice. We begin by explaining what virtue jurisprudence is, and we specify how its Aristotelian-sourced humanism has been the basis of ongoing sociolegal inquiry. We then delineate the coordinates of our methodology. These coordinates consist of two levels of textual data collection, as obtained from a LexisNexis criterion-based sample design. Next, we summarily present the results. These findings reveal both the judicial temperaments and the normative forces that inform and influence the nature of sociolegal decision making on the matter of zero-tolerance public school discipline. We discuss and analyze the results within the critical humanism of virtue jurisprudence. This critique suggests how the courts’ endorsement of zero-tolerance public policy and practice might be reconceived if an ethic of citizenship grounded the courts’ reasoning and decision making.

The Singaporean Paralympics and Its Media Portrayal: Real Sport? Men-Only?

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 446-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Brooke
Keyword(s):  
Women Athletes ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Sexual Objectification ◽  
Media Portrayal ◽  
Disabled Women ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
The Media ◽  
Paralympic Sport ◽  
Dual Burden ◽  
Discursive Representations

This article explores the discursive representations of Paralympians in South East Asia, particlarly in Singapore. One goal is to look at the extent and nature of media coverage of the Paralympics. Another goal of the research is to examine whether female Paralympians are exposed to the dual burden of sexist and ablest ideology in the media. Over 2 years, data from 100 articles were collected from three local Singaporean and Asian media sources; additionally, interviews and a survey were conducted with both Paralympians and citizens from the disabled community as well as a cohort of nondisabled Singaporean citizens. Findings suggest that coverage of Paralympic sport is significantly low, and that patriotism is more starkly linked to the Paralympics than the Olympics. Findings also suggest that othering (presenting the disabled as passive as well as challenged), or the supercrip narrative is apparent. Disabled women athletes tend to be overrepresented in passive poses out of the sport field. Finally, and more positively, the study finds that there are many images of Paralympian women as sophisticated and attractive without being sexually provocative. Therefore, evidence of sexual objectification or presentation of asexual disabled women tends not to be as present, as other similar studies have found.

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