Discipline in Schools

Colorado School Safety Resource Center Created Discipline Materials

• Examples of Restorative Justice Actions in Schools (Created | July 2013)

Other Discipline Materials

• Supporting Students with Disabilities and Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Student Discipline under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

  • This guidance describes schools’ responsibilities under Section 504 to ensure nondiscrimination against students based on disability when imposing student discipline. Specifically, the guidance explains how compliance with Section 504’s requirement to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities can assist schools in effectively supporting and responding to behavior that is based on a student’s disability and that could lead to student discipline.

Colorado House Bill 12-1345 / Senate Bill 12-046 - School Finance and School Discipline

• The content of SB12-046 became an amendment to the School Finance Act (HB12-1345) on the last day of the 2012 Colorado legislative session. Governor Hickenlooper signed this bill into law on May 19, 2012.

• The general assembly declared that "zero-tolerance" policies have resulted in unnecessary expulsions, suspensions, and law enforcement referrals., This bill was an effort to allow school administrators and local boards to use their discretion to determine appropriate disciplinary response to each incident with policies that apply equally to all students.

• At a Glance Notes on HB 12-1345 / SB 12-046 (Created by CSSRC)

• Criminal Justice Contacts with Students Data Collection

  • Included in HB12-1345 are mandates for both law enforcement and district attorneys to collect data on criminal justice contacts with students and report those data annually to the Division of Criminal Justice by August 1. Data collection requirements for law enforcement can be found in C.R.S. 22-32-146 and for District Attorneys in C.R.S. 20-1-113.

  • To facilitate and standardize this data collection, DCJ has developed spreadsheet templates. The use of the spreadsheet templates is strictly voluntary. DCJ will accept the reporting of the data in any electronic format.

Colorado Department of Education

• Colorado Safety and Discipline Indicators

• Colorado Suspension and Expulsion Statistics

• Restraint

  • Restraints shall only be used in an emergency. To best prevent emergencies, the use of positive behavior supports is strongly encouraged especially for students who have behaviors that could result in injury to themselves or others.

Colorado Office of the Attorney General

• Colorado School Violence Prevention & Student Discipline Manual (2022 Edition)

  • Written by the Attorney General, the, safety of our children and their schools is a priority for anyone using this newly revised edition of "Colorado School Violence Prevention: A Legal Manual". Since 1999, the Manual has been a source of information on the legal tools available to school administrators and personnel committed to creating a safe learning environment and preventing school-related violence.

  • This edition is organized in six substantive sections:

    • Prevention and Preparation

    • Incident Response and Management

    • Information Sharing

    • Student Discipline

    • Criminal Offenses Specific to Schools

    • Liability Considerations.

  • The entire Manual has been refreshed and new material added.

Creative Discipline & Alternatives to Suspension

• Created by Nate Thompson of Littleton Public Schools and the Colorado School Safety Resource Center Alternative Discipline Work Group, May 2013.

• Colorado Dept. of Education, Office of Learning Supports (Revision Nov. 2014)

• Contains examples of discipline strategies to use in schools.

Education Development Center (EDC)

• The National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention (National Center) provides training and technical assistance (TA) to Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) and Project LAUNCH grantees. The mission of the National Center is to strengthen grantees' capacity in achieving their goals by offering services to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of their work.

Evidence-based Program Registries

• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), Effective Social and Emotional Learning Programs Guide

• Crime Solutions.gov Effective Programs Registry, Delinquency Prevention in Schools

• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Model Programs Guide, School / Classroom Environment

• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) Model Programs Guide (MPG)

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

• Youth Focused Policing Agency Self-Assessment Tool

  • This online resource will help law enforcement agencies identify best practice responses to youth crime, delinquency, re-offending, and victimization. The brief provides an overview of adolescent brain development, impact on youth/police communications, strategies to improve law enforcement interactions with youth, and tips to foster positive youth development.

• A Roadmap to the Ideal Juvenile Justice System

  • Law Enforcement's Leadership Role in Juvenile Justice Reform: Actionable Recommendations for Practice & Policy

    • Released July 2014 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

    • Featuring Denver's Intergovernmental Agreement on School Discipline: Collaboration among the Police, School System & Community.

    • Police officers are usually the first contact that young people have with the juvenile justice system. And yet in many communities, law enforcement leaders have not been part of the discussion on juvenile justice reform and the development of policies and practices addressing youth. Sometimes it is because they may not see their agency as part of the juvenile justice system. However, it is often because others in the community working with young people - schools, service providers, legal professionals and others - have not embraced their involvement. The National Summit on Law Enforcement Leadership in Juvenile Justice was designed as a way to bridge that divide. This report summarizes the findings of the summit.

The IRIS Center

• Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), the IRIS Center is headquartered at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. Our primary objective is to create and infuse resources about evidence-based practices into preservice preparation and professional development programs. To facilitate this process, IRIS disseminates and offers trainings on those resources.

• Behavior and Classroom Management resources

Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (JJIE)

• Based at Kennesaw State University - JJIE provides timely, in-depth information on juvenile justice issues and trends.

• Community-Based Alternatives

• Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

National Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

• The Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports has been established by the Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education, to give schools capacity-building information and technical assistance for identifying, adapting, and sustaining effective school-wide disciplinary practices.

• Blueprint for School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Training and Professional Development

  • The purpose of this Training and Professional Development Blueprint for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports is to provide an overview of essential features of professional development and the basic logic of building internal district systems capacity for implementing effective practices and making sound data decisions. Districts are provided with strategies and tools to self-assess and determine needed resources. The Blueprint is not intended to serve as a professional development curriculum or set of training and support materials. Descriptions of key features enable school district leadership teams to build a system of professional development that is responsive to school team needs. In addition, implications for regional and state supports are briefly discussed.

National Standards for the Care of Youth Charged with Status Offenses

• The National Standards were developed by the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) and a team of experts from various jurisdictions, disciplines and perspectives, including juvenile and family court judges, child welfare and juvenile defense attorneys, juvenile corrections and detention administrators, community-based, service providers, and practitioners with expertise in responding to gender-specific needs. Many hours were devoted to discussing, debating and constructing a set of ambitious yet implementable standards that are portable, easily understood, and designed to spur and inform state and local policy and practice reforms.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)

• OJJDP is a component of the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice.

• Developmental Sequences of Girls Delinquent Behavior

  • Published December 2013, this report reviews multiple studies of delinquent behavior in girls to discover patterns. It is found that girls do not have a typical or standard sequence of delinquent behaviors, although most girls are low-level offenders. Intervention efforts should consider the unique offending behaviors of girls.

  • CSSRC Staff Review (Dec. 2013)

• Model Programs Guide (MPG)

  • The MPG is designed to assist practitioners and communities in implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention programs that can make a difference in the lives of children and communities. The MPG database of over 200 evidence-based programs covers the entire continuum of youth services from prevention through sanctions to reentry. The MPG can be used to assist juvenile justice practitioners, administrators, and researchers to enhance accountability, ensure public safety, and reduce recidivism.

• Pathways to Desistance Publication Series

  • Pathways to Desistance

  • This study has collected the most comprehensive data set currently available about serious adolescent offenders and their lives in late adolescence and early adulthood. It looks at the factors that lead youth who have committed serious offenses to continue or desist from offending, including individual maturation, life changes, and involvement with the criminal justice system.

  • Behavioral Health Problems, Treatment & Outcomes in Serious Youthful Offenders (June 2014)

• Supportive School Discipline Initiative (SSDI) Brief (July 2014)

Padres y Jovenes Unidos (Parents and Youth United)

• The Colorado School Discipline Report Card: The State of 179 Districts Toward Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline in Colorado (Updated - Aug. 2016)

  • This report provides an analysis of school discipline data for 2012-13, the first full year of the Smart School Discipline law's implementation (HB12-1345 / SB12-046).

• Lessons in Racial Justice and Movement Building: Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline in Colorado and Nationally (Sept. 2014)

Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS)

• The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) supports the use of PBIS for Colorado Schools. The mission of the Colorado Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Initiative is to establish and maintain effective school environments that maximize academic achievement and behavioral competence of all learners in Colorado.

Restorative Justice Colorado

• In partnership with the Colorado Restorative Justice Council, and supported by a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, this site offers information not only on restorative justice in general, but also strategies, resources, and case studies specifically for schools.

The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in School & Out of the Juvenile Justice System

• Published by the Council of State Governments Justice Center as a component of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative of the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice (May 2014)

• This is a comprehensive report providing school leaders and state and local government officials more than 60 recommendations for overhauling their approach to school discipline. The recommendations focus on improving conditions for learning for all students and staff, strengthening responses to student's behavioral health needs, tailoring school-police partnerships, and minimizing students' involvement with the juvenile justice system.

• The report reflects a consensus among a wide collection of leaders in the areas of education, health, law enforcement, and juvenile justice, establishing the strategies necessary to reduce the number of youth suspended from school while providing learning conditions that help all students succeed.

Sexual Misconduct Reporting Guide

• Guidance from the Colorado Department of Education on reporting sexual misconduct in schools per the Safe Schools Act.

Status Offense Reform Center (SORC)

• Launched in December 2013, the Status Offense Reform Center (SORC) aims to help policymakers and practitioners create effective, community-based responses for keeping young people who commit status offenses out of the juvenile justice system and safely in their homes and communities. The Center provides tools and information to help guide system change and foster an active community of practice.

• SORC is a project of the Center on Youth Justice at the Vera Institute of Justice and is supported by funding provided through the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, as part of its Models for Change Resource Center Partnership.

• From Courts to Communities: The Right Response to Truancy, Running Away, and Other Status Offenses

  • Published December 2013

Supportive School Discipline Webinar Series

Supportive School Discipline Webinar Series

 

• Continuing the efforts of the Federal Supportive School Discipline Initiative, the U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services are pleased to announce the Supportive School Discipline (SSD) Webinar Series. The Series is designed to increase awareness and understanding of school disciplinary practices that push youth out of school and many times into the justice system, and provide practical examples of alternative approaches that maintain school safety while ensuring academic engagement and success for all students.

Addressing Truancy: Innovative Approaches to Systematically Increasing Attendance and Reducing Chronic Truancy

• After years of study, the research is clear:

  1. The impact of truancy on students, schools, communities and society is profound and

  2. It is critical to take a multi-faceted approach to prevent and reduce truancy. This webinar will feature positive and collaborative approaches to addressing truancy. Specifically, it will showcase characteristics of effective truancy prevention and intervention programs that have encouraged students to attend school consistently and take increased ownership in their education.

Alternatives to Traditional School Discipline: The Multi-Tiered Behavioral Health Prevention Framework

• This archived webinar will focus on how the use of discretionary discipline practices focused on prevention and early intervention can transform schools into supportive learning environments for all students. Presenters will describe the multi-tiered behavioral health prevention framework and share community examples of how schools and secure care facilities are applying the framework to create more supportive discipline policies and practices.

At the Intersection of School Safety and Supportive Discipline: Navigating the Roles and Responsibilities of School Resource Officers

• Leading up to the most recent school tragedy and the subsequent call for increasing the number of school resource officers (SROs), growing evidence indicates the need for

  1. improved school climate

  2. supportive school discipline policies and practices. It is critical, then, that we take what the field has learned and apply it to the development of high quality partnerships between SROs and America's schools via thoughtful planning, training and practice.

Making the Case for Positive Approaches to Discipline

• This archived webinar will examine the impact of punitive and exclusionary school discipline approaches and identify traditional school discipline practices that are known to be ineffective. It will also showcase community examples of positive alternatives to school discipline that reduce student alienation, increase student engagement, and decrease justice system involvement.

Stemming the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Applying Restorative Justice Principles to School Discipline Practices

• This Webinar provided the knowledge that school, district, residential facility, and court staff, law enforcement and legal personnel, youth, families, and other community stakeholders need to better understand how restorative justice principles, when applied to school discipline practices, can stem the school-to-prison pipeline. With the potential of teaching conflict resolution skills, fostering understanding and empathy, and building stronger relationships in schools and communities, restorative justice has proven to be an effective alternative to punitive and exclusionary responses to problem student behavior.

Transforming School Climate Through Trauma Informed Practices

• This Webinar will provide the knowledge that school, district, and court staff, law enforcement and legal personnel, youth, families, and other community stakeholders need to better understand the impact of exposure to trauma on youth behavior, how some discipline responses can traumatize or re-traumatize youth, and trauma-informed alternatives. In addition, the behavioral impact of trauma on youth with disabilities will be explained. By better understanding the impact of trauma, and the inter-relationship of trauma and disability, schools can use discipline practices that support students, foster their success, and keep them out of the justice system.

Using Youth Courts as a Supportive School Discipline Practice

• The webinar will provide the knowledge participants need to better understand how the use of youth courts in schools can ensure offender accountability while offering fair and restorative consequences for discipline infractions. By directing lower level cases away from the formal justice system, youth courts can be an integral part of a school's supportive disciplinary process, serving as an alternative to traditional disciplinary measures such as suspension and detention.

U.S. Department of Education

• 2020 Colorado Compilation of School Discipline Laws and Regulations

  • This compilation presents school discipline-related laws and regulations for U.S. states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, and, where available, links to education agency websites or resources related to school discipline and student conduct. The discipline laws and regulations presented in this compilation have been categorized by type of specific discipline issue covered, according to an organizational framework developed by the National Center for Safe and Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE).

• Rules for the Administration of the Protection of Persons from Restraint Act 1 CCR 301-45

  • These Rules were developed in accordance with C.R.S. 26-20-101, et seq. Specific statutory authority for the development of these Rules comes from C.R.S. 26-20-108. These Rules are provided pursuant to the terms of the "Protection of Persons from Restraint Act". These Rules outline the procedures to be followed in the administration of restraint, staff training, documentation requirements, and the review of the use of restraint

• OSEP Dear Colleague Letter on Supporting Behavior of Students with Disabilities: A summary for stakeholders

• Dear Colleague Letter on the Inclusion of Behavioral Supports in Individualized Education Programs (Aug. 2016)

  • A Dear Colleague Letter to provide significant guidance for schools and other agencies to clarify their responsibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide children with disabilities appropriate behavioral interventions and supports that are necessary to ensure they have meaningful access to their education. Doing so ensures that eligible children with disabilities who have behavioral needs receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and placement in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

• Civil Rights Data Collection Data Snapshot: School Discipline (Published - March 2014)

• School Climate and Discipline

  • Dear Colleague Letter on the Nondiscriminatory Administration of School Discipline (Published - Jan. 2014)

  • Guiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate and Discipline (Jan. 2014)

  • Directory of Federal School Climate and Discipline Resources (Jan. 2014)

  • Overview of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative (Jan. 2014)

  • Compendium of School Discipline State Laws and Regulations (Launched - Jan. 2014)

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