top of page


What to do with angry, unstable students
Photo: Pixabay In A day in the life of school social workers, Hechinger’s Peggy Barmore looks at how Schenectady (New York) schools...

Joanne Jacobs
May 2, 20221 min read
0 comments


Cutting suspensions doesn’t close ‘discipline gap’
California’s out-of-school suspension rate is way down, but the “discipline gap” remains, reports Mario Koran on The 74. Black students...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 13, 20182 min read
0 comments


How restorative justice can work
Students talk at the peace table at a San Jose Montessori school Restorative justice can make schools safer, if it’s done well, writes...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 28, 20182 min read
0 comments


Lax discipline, bullying, chaos and death
A “once safe and supportive” New York City school “fell into chaos as new administrators implemented a supposedly more positive approach...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 12, 20183 min read
0 comments


AFT, NEA play politics with teacher safety
Teachers across the country are complaining that new, softer discipline policies aren’t working, writes Max Eden, a senior fellow at the...

Joanne Jacobs
May 13, 20182 min read
0 comments


Broken PROMISE
Today, the anniversary of the Columbine massacre, students are being urged to walk out of school to protest school shootings, register...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 19, 20183 min read
0 comments


Discipline rules aren’t racist
Students Suspended from School Compared to Student Population, by Race, Sex, and Disability Status, School Year 2013-14 Black students...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 13, 20182 min read
0 comments


De Vos: Schools are less safe
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is under pressure to rescind — or to preserve — what’s known as the “Obama-era guidance” on school...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 12, 20183 min read
0 comments


Safety last?
When he brought a knife to San Diego’s Lincoln High School, the student’s special education team decided he wasn’t responsible because it...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 29, 20182 min read
0 comments


He sat in class — and got suspended
While other students walked out of school to protest gun violence, Jacob Shoemaker sat in class alone. The Hilliard Davidson High senior...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 16, 20181 min read
0 comments


Discipline reform: Did it go too far?
Discipline reform may have contributed to the violence at Douglas High School, writes Erika Sanzi, who blogs on Good School Hunting, on...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 7, 20182 min read
0 comments
Requiring the impossible leads to fraud
Washington, D.C. public schools were held up as a model of “expert driven” education reform, writes Max C. Eden and Lindsey Burke on...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 16, 20181 min read
0 comments


Reforming school discipline: Too fast?
Is school discipline reform moving too fast? asks Wayne D’Orio in The Atlantic. In the Highline district south of Seattle, suspensions...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 21, 20182 min read
0 comments


New suspension policy does little in Philly
Philadelphia’s discipline reforms, which limited suspensions, improved attendance but not achievement for previously suspended students...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 10, 20172 min read
0 comments


Soft discipline is bigotry of low expectations
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos appears to be gearing up to rescind Obama-era discipline policies. A 2014 “Dear Colleague” letter warned...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 28, 20172 min read
0 comments


Revoke federal letter on suspensions, race
School safety is more important than racial balance in suspensions, argues Jason L. Riley in the Wall Street Journal. Education Secretary...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 14, 20172 min read
0 comments


Discipline reform and disorder in New York City
Suspensions are down at New York City schools, but teachers and students report more disorder, disrespect, fighting, gang activity and...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 17, 20172 min read
0 comments
Let schools enforce discipline
Rescinding the joint 2014 “dear colleague” letter on school discipline should be a top priority for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 28, 20172 min read
0 comments
bottom of page