NCJ Number
214700
Date Published
2006
Length
58 pages
Annotation
This report presents the findings of public hearings held in Florida in the fall of 2005 in order to assess prevalent school disciplinary policies in six school districts and consider the need for reform of those policies.
Abstract
Overall, the hearings concluded that children and youth learned best in environments that were safe and free of disruptive behavior; however, participants were concerned that the school districts assessed had turned away from school-based disciplinary procedures and had handled too many instances of typical student misbehavior by relying on police and the courts and imposing punishments that needlessly removed students from school. There was agreement that there was no evidence that "zero-tolerance" policies and measures alone were effective in changing student misconduct or preventing violence. Research has shown that prevention and intervention programs are the most effective means of creating and maintaining a safe and productive learning environment. Recommendations for more effective disciplinary policies focus on State and local officials, juvenile court personnel, and parents and educators. The event that caused these hearings to be called was the arrest and forcible removal of a 5-year-old girl from her St. Petersburg elementary school because she had a temper tantrum in class. Findings are presented for the hearing in each of the six counties: Pinellas, Hillsborough, Duval, Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade.