School Discipline: Best Practices for Administrators

by Louis Rosen

Overview

Rosen (executive director of the School Justice Institute, "a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the improvement of fair discipline practices in schools") presents the results of a series of meetings, which brought together assistant principals in charge of discipline across the United States to review programs and policies of school discipline and safety. The volume summarizes the issues identified as important to the contemporary practice of school discipline, offering chapters on goals and definitions, standards of rule evaluation and model Student Codes of Conduct, legal requirements and court decisions related to discipline, research by the United States Department of Education and the Disciplined and Drug Free Schools Program, prevention strategies (involving school climate, anger control, counseling, communication, documentation, and community involvement), and issues related to disciplining special education students under the Individual Disabilities Education Act. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412913485
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	03/28/2005
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Louis Rosen, Ph D, is the executive director of the School Justice Institute, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the improvement of fair discipline practices in schools. He has been a high school principal in the Los Angeles area for 19 years; an assistant principal for 4 years; a high school counselor; and a high school social studies teacher. He was the project director of the Drugs in the Schools and Principles and Practices of Justice on School Campuses programs for the Center for Civic Education in Calabasas, California. He has also served as the executive director of Partners of Education of Toledo for three years. While he was director of Partners in Education of Toledo, the organization provided more than 2,000 tutors and $2 million in resources for the public and Catholic schools of the Toledo area through partnerships with businesses and labor unions. He is the author of School Discipline Practices and several journal arti-cles that have appeared in the The High School Journal, a publication of the National Association of Secondary Schools Principals, and School Safety, published by the National School Safety Center. He was the principal writer of two student texts, Drugs in the Schools and Violence in the Schools, published by the Center for Civic Education. He has served as an acade-mic specialist for the United States Information Agency and initiated a special program on school justice issues for Arab and Jewish principals in Israel. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from UCLA, a master’s degree in secondary school administration from California State University at Los Angeles, and a Ph D in education from Claremont Graduate University. He resides in Pacific Palisades, California. He currently serves as a volunteer for the Los Angeles Superior Court as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children (CASA). He also volunteers for Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles and serves on the board of the Southern California Regional Council of Organizations as their representative. He is currently working on a book: College Is Not for Everyone.

Table of Contents

List of Forms and Figures
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. Fair Schoolwide Discipline
Defining the Goals of School Discipline
Providing Leadership for Fair and Just Discipline Practices
Using a Justice Issues School Checklist
2. Developing Good School Rules and a Student Code of Conduct
Legal Requirement for Local School Rules
What Makes a Good School Rule?
What to Include in a Student Code of Conduct
A Model Student Code of Conduct
Conclusion
3. Setting Consequences for Breaking Rules
Teachers' Responsibility for Classroom Discipline
Violations of Federal and State Laws and School Discipline
Consequences for Violating School Rules Outlined in the Student Code of Conduct
Prescriptive Discipline Strategies
Conducting Your Own Research on Discipline Strategies
Conclusion
4. Procedural Justice and Effective School Discipline
Landmark Due Process School Discipline Cases
Legal Authority for Administering Schools
Developing Fair Procedures for All
Linking Community Services, Law Enforcement, and Schools for High-Risk Youth
Conclusion
5. Suspension and Expulsion as Consequences
Long-Term Suspension or Expulsion
Exceptional Children
Student Questioning
Expulsions
Zero Tolerance
6. Disciplining Students With Disabilities
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
Why Are There Special Rules About Discipline for Children With Disabilities?
Does IDEA Contain Provisions That Promote Proactive Up-Front Measures That Will Help Prevent Discipline Problems?
Can a Child With a Disability Who Is Experiencing Significant Disciplinary Problems Be Removed to Another Placement?
Can a Child With a Disablilty Be Removed From Placement for More Than Ten Days in a School Year?
After the Tenth School Day Then What?
Expulsion of Students With Disabilities
Weapons Possession by Students With Disabilities
7. Best Strategies to Keep Your School Safe
Prevention Strategies
Discovery Strategies
Remedies, Consequences, and Deterrents as Strategies
Conclusion
8. School Climate and Its Relation to School Discipline
The School as a Friendly Place
Group Openness
Emphasize the Positive
Promote Respect for Staff and Students
Promoting Classroom Management Skills
Valuing Diversity
School Climate and Communication
School Climate and School Safety
9. Mental Health and Anger Control as Prevention Strategies
Anger Control as a Prevention Strategy
Anger Control and High-Risk Students
Relations With the Community as a Prevention Strategy
The School Administrator as Employment Counselor
Conclusion
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

A handbook outlining how to set school rules that satisfy state codes and that staff and students can also live by. The guide provides strategies for developing school rules and a student code of conduct, disciplinary strategies, suspension and expulsion programs, procedural justice, and deterrents to keep drugs and weapons out of schools. The conclusion discusses future trends in charter and magnet schools, school-to-work programs, and technology and discipline practices. Includes sample contracts, forms, worksheets, and checklists. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"For the seasoned professional, the book provides a way of developing the administration team. For potential administrators, the book introduces a range of topics for consideration before entering the field."

John Davis

This book will appeal to a wide range of school administrators, both elementary and secondary. In addition, I feel this book would greatly benefit principals and assistant principals new to the profession. The book provides an excellent overview of school discipline.

Royce Avery