Adopt positive, restorative discipline approaches and ban harmful exclusionary practices¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The brief recommends states influence district discipline by setting clear goals to reduce disparities and overuses in discipline, ensuring transparent data, and "adopting more positive approaches to discipline, such as restorative justice." Improvement priorities include banning corporal punishment, zero tolerance policies, discriminatory hair and grooming codes, and exclusionary discipline for non-violent, subjective or minor offenses like defiance; restricting restraint to trained staff in instances of immediate harm and prohibiting prone restraints; and co-developing student-centered codes of conduct with families.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• State education agency staff to support districts with technical assistance and implementation for positive discipline practices
• Restraint used only by staff trained in both de-escalation and safe restraint

Constraints¶

• Framed as improvements Tennessee has not yet fully implemented

Target Learners¶

• P-12 students, especially students of color and students with disabilities

Target Learning Goals¶

• Safe school climates that protect opportunities to learn and develop holistically

Claims¶

• The School District of Philadelphia reformed its student code of conduct in 2012-2013 to prohibit suspensions and expulsions for two types of non-violent student conduct [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Professional development in asset-based pedagogies and adult SEL to build culturally affirming environments
• Restorative-justice-aligned discipline policies to reduce exclusionary discipline disparities
• Seven state-level policy actions to improve school discipline equity
• Replace exclusionary discipline with restorative practices and implement data-driven attendance monitoring
• Restorative Practices
• Restorative Approaches
• Six-part state and local policy strategy for reducing exclusionary discipline and suspension gaps
• Empathic Discipline

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• The Education Trust. (2023). How Does Tennessee Support Students' Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD)?. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED630070