Fix School Discipline Toolkit for Educators | Page 4

Dear School Leaders,
During the 2013-2014 academic year, California schools issued more suspensions than diplomas.1 Among suspended
and expelled students, glaring racial disparities are apparent.2 Overwhelming numbers of students who have been
suspended or expelled from schools are permanently pushed out of school and into the criminal justice system. Even
more troubling, more than two decades of research has shown that suspension and expulsion are not effective methods
for preventing unwanted student behavior or improving school safety.
Harsh school discipline policies and practices exact extraordinary harm on students and impact communities
throughout California. Except for the most serious safety-related offenses, out-of-school suspension amounts to unsound
educational policy; it does not benefit students, teachers, schools or communities. The “How School We Can Fix
School Discipline” Toolkit was designed to provide tools that every school official and leader - from the teacher to the
Superintendent - can use to transform discipline practices from a model that focuses on school removals to one that
focuses on keeping students in school and improving student outcomes.
Over the past two decades educators have created proven, research-based alternatives to harsh school removal practices.
These alternatives not only work for students struggling with behavior, but for all students.
Unfortunately, there are still communities where educational leaders know there are successful options but they aren’t
putting them in place or are erecting false barriers to avoid these important changes. We hope this Toolkit will help
change that.
More and more educators and community leaders in California are using proven alternative approaches to managing
students’ behavior and improving school climate and seeing real results. In this Toolkit, you will learn about these
leaders, their successes, and how to get their help. If you are already working to improve school climate, this edition
includes new strategies for addressing racial disproportionality in discipline that persists despite suspension and
expulsion reductions, f