On June 3, 2014, the Council of State Governments Justice Center released The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System.

The product of the Justice Center’s School Discipline Consensus Project, the report offers a comprehensive set of policy statements and recommendations for approaches to school discipline that reduce reliance on suspensions and expulsions of students for nonviolent behavior, improve students’ academic outcomes, and promote safe and productive learning environments.

The consensus project is a key component of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative, launched by the Attorney General and Secretary of Education in July 2011. OJJDP is coordinating the Justice Department’s work on the initiative. The consensus project has been funded through a public–private partnership that includes OJJDP, The Atlantic Philanthropies, The California Endowment, the Open Society Foundations, and NoVo Foundation.

The project involved nearly 2 years of consensus group meetings with hundreds of practitioners from the fields of education, juvenile justice, behavioral health, and law enforcement; as well as state and local policymakers, researchers, advocates, students, and parents.

The consensus report’s recommendations provide a roadmap that can be adapted for use in individual localities and is applicable no matter the size, population demographics, or type of location.

Resources:

The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System is available online.

For more information about the Supportive School Discipline Initiative, read the January/February 2014 issue of OJJDP News @ a Glance.