Rethink School Discipline: School District Leader Summit

on Improving School Climate and Discipline

Resource Guide for 

Superintendent Action

July 2015

U.S. Department of Education

Rethink School Discipline: School District Leader Summit 

on Improving School Climate and Discipline

Resource Guide for Superintendent Action

July 2015

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

U.S. Department of Education
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U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or 

completeness of any outside information included in this report. 

U.S. Department of Education

Arne Duncan

Secretary

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Ann Whalen

Senior Advisor to the Secretary Delegated the Duties of Assistant Secretary 

July 2015

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. 

While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. 

Department of Education, Rethink School Discipline: School District Leader Summit on Improving 

School Climate and Discipline, Resource Guide for Superintendent Action, Washington, D.C., 2015.

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1

Progress toward our nation’s goal of preparing all students for college, careers, and civic life is 

possible when we create safe and supportive school environments where all students benefit 

from a quality education. A good school — a place that ultimately prepares all of its students 

for success in the next steps of their lives — is, first, a safe school. A good school is also a supportive 

school, where students and staff are empowered to demonstrate positive, caring, and restorative 

approaches to improving school climate and discipline. Put another way, a good school is one of the 

best places for students to learn from both the triumphs and shortcomings they experience at school.

The task of creating and sustaining safe, supportive schools is challenging, complex, and absolutely 

essential to improving students’ connection to school and their overall achievement, as well as to 

ensuring the meaningful engagement of families in their children’s education. This Resource Guide for 

Superintendent Action is intended to support superintendents and their leadership teams in their strategic 

efforts to engage stakeholders, assess the results and history of existing school climate and discipline 

systems and practices, implement reform, and monitor progress toward a more consistently equitable 

and rewarding future for all our nation’s schoolchildren.

 Purpose of This Resource Guide

1. To highlight the important role that superintendents and school leaders play as ambassadors for and 

implementers of safe and supportive school climate and discipline within their school districts and 

local communities. 

2. To offer possible district- and school-level action steps for initiating and enhancing local efforts to 

create safe and supportive school climate and discipline systems and practices. 

3. To share promising practices and useful resources for implementing and sustaining safe and 

supportive school climate and discipline in collaboration with local stakeholders.

The stakes are clear. And these stakes are high: At the end of the day, 

what kind of society do we want to have? What kind of country do we 

want to be? It’s not enough to celebrate the ideals that we’re built on —

liberty for all, and justice for all and equality for all. Those can’t just be 

words on paper. The work of every generation is to make those ideals 

mean something concrete in the lives of our children — all of our children. 

President Barack Obama

Remarks by the President at Launch of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance

May 4, 2015

Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/05/04/remarks-presidentlaunch-my-brothers-keeper-alliance
2

Know the Facts About School Climate and Discipline: 

The Challenge and the Opportunity

Although national rates of school violence have decreased overall,1 many schools struggle to create and 

sustain the nurturing, positive, safe, and equitable learning environments that we know are needed to 

improve student outcomes. Research clearly shows that discipline policies and practices that remove 

students from engaging instruction — such as suspensions, expulsions, and inappropriate referrals to law 

enforcement — generally fail to help students improve their behavior and fail to improve school safety. 

Suspended students are less likely to graduate on time and more likely to repeat a grade, drop out of 

school, and become involved in the juvenile justice system.2

 Data from the 2011–12 Civil Rights Data 

Collection (CRDC)3

 show that students of certain racial or ethnic groups tend to be disciplined more 

than their peers.4

 

For example, consider the following:

✔ African-American students are three times 

more likely than their white peers to be 

expelled or suspended.

✔ Although African-American students 

represent 16 percent of the public school 

student population, they make up 33 percent 

of students suspended once, 42 percent of 

those suspended more than once, and 34 

percent of students expelled.

✔ African-American and Latino students make 

up 40 percent of the student population but 

over 50 percent of the students referred to 

law enforcement or involved in schoolrelated arrests.

✔ Black girls are suspended at higher rates 

(12 percent) than girls of any other race or 

ethnicity and most boys; American Indian 

and Alaska Native girls are suspended at 

higher rates (7 percent) than white boys (6 

percent) or girls (2 percent).

✔ Racial disparities in out-of-school 

suspensions also start early; black children 

represent 18 percent of preschool 

enrollment but 48 percent of the preschool 

children suspended more than once.

✔ Although students served under the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

(IDEA) represent 12 percent of students in 

the country, they are more than twice as 

likely to receive one or more out-of-school 

suspensions as non-IDEA students (13 

percent versus 6 percent), and they make 

up 25 percent of students referred to law 

enforcement and 25 percent of students who 

are the subject of a school-related arrest.

✔ Students with disabilities (under the 

IDEA) represent 12 percent of students but 

nearly 75 percent of the students who are 

physically restrained in their schools. 

✔ Additionally, research has found that the 

overwhelming majority of suspensions are 

determined at the discretion of local school 

officials and not mandated by state law or 

policy.5
3

Alternatively, research and experience strongly suggest that different outcomes are possible for our 

schools and our students. Safe, supportive school climate and discipline are associated with the 

following improved outcomes:6

✔ Few incidences of school violence as well 

as increased staff and student feelings of 

safety;7

✔ High academic achievement, including 

improved grades and test scores;8

✔ Strong student attendance,9

 which, 

in turn, has been associated with 

improved academic performance and 

graduation rates;10

✔ Minimal engagement in risky behaviors, 

including substance abuse;11

✔ High levels of student engagement and 

self-discipline, due in part to the emphasis 

on cooperative learning and respectful 

interaction that help promote good 

behaviors12 (with less likelihood of being 

referred to the office for disciplinary reasons 

or to receive a formal disciplinary action13);

✔ Strong attachment to school and positive 

student relationships with adults and 

peers,14 which are associated with student 

engagement and satisfaction; and 15

✔ High levels of staff satisfaction, 

involvement, and investment.16

Schools play a critical role in developing the academic, social, and 

emotional skills that help children learn to interact in a respectful manner, 

resolve conflict peacefully, and mature into contributing members of 

their communities. To effectively develop these competencies, however, 

students must feel supported, connected to their teachers and staff, 

encouraged to do well, and physically and emotionally safe—all part of 

the conditions necessary for learning.

The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies from the Field to Keep Students 

Engaged in School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System, p. 26
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Turning Ideas Into Reality: Strategies for Taking Action

The following strategies for taking action offer a potential guide for superintendents. These action items 

draw on federal guidance and guiding principles laid out in the U.S. Departments of Education and 

Justice’s School Discipline Guidance Package17 and research from the field. This includes the Council 

of State Governments Justice Center’s The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies from the 

Field to Keep Students Engaged in School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System.18 To take action, 

superintendents and their leadership teams will prioritize investments in time and resources based on 

local assets and needs, and in partnership with schools, students, families, and community stakeholders.

As superintendent, you are uniquely positioned to convene a diverse coalition of stakeholders across 

your district — including local elected officials, educators, families, students, business leaders, 

philanthropies, and community organizations, who feel a sense of ownership in the success of area 

youths and a sense of empowerment to help lead the effort. Engage key stakeholders early in the 

process in order to mobilize leadership in a community-wide discussion of the results and history of 

existing school climate and discipline systems and practices. By engaging stakeholders at all levels, you 

and your leadership team can build a healthy, collaborative, and solution-oriented dialogue. Below are 

some ideas on how to get started.

✔ Engage stakeholders — especially school board members, principals, teachers, students, and 

families — in a discussion about safe and supportive school climate and discipline as an alternative 

to exclusionary discipline to generate enthusiasm for and commitment to reforming current systems 

and practices.

✔ Create and distribute engaging informational materials that publicize opportunities for stakeholder 

engagement in the district’s school climate and discipline reform process (see the Sample Postcard 

for Educators and the Sample Postcard for Parents and Families in the “Federal Guidance and 

Related Resources” section at the end of this guide).

✔ Host community town-hall meetings to engage the broader public in discussions of the district’s new 

vision for schools as it relates to school climate and discipline. 

Action Item #1:

 Engage school board members, 

schools, and the local community.
5

Action Item #2:

 Collect, analyze, and make transparent 

school climate and discipline data.

Engage and challenge leadership teams to assess the results of their district’s school climate and 

discipline systems and practices by collecting and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data 

to determine the results and root causes of negative school climate and discipline outcomes. Work to 

engage whole school communities in both data collection and root cause analyses in order to build 

understanding, generate buy-in, and foster a collaborative spirit. Below are some ideas on how to get 

started.

✔ Engage in deliberate efforts to make school climate and discipline data comprehensible and 

accessible to families and community stakeholders, including a review of your district’s CRDC 

data as a starting place and template for your own analyses:

• CRDC data can be found at http://ocrdata.ed.gov/.

• Engage stakeholders in data analysis (i.e., disaggregation of data by gender, race, disability, 

etc.).

• Host community meetings to share the findings from the data.

✔ Assess the extent to which school climate and discipline policies are clear, easy to understand, 

and available in a language-accessible manner, and ensure that all members of a school’s 

community, including parents and families, have access to high-quality training on local school 

climate and discipline policies.

✔ Disseminate to schools the U.S. Department of Education’s new school climate and discipline root 

cause analysis resource — Addressing the Root Causes of Disciplinary Disparities: An Educator’s 

Action Planning Guide (See “Federal Guidance and Related Resources” at the end of this guide) 

— to help them determine the root causes of why certain infractions occur at significantly higher 

rates than others and what may be causing this high frequency.

✔ Conduct a school climate survey and engage stakeholders in regular reviews of quantitative and 

qualitative school climate and discipline data.
6

PROMISING PRACTICE FROM The School Discipline Consensus Report

Selecting a School Climate Survey Instrument

When selecting or creating a survey instrument to assess school climate, schools and 

districts should ensure that the survey 

✔ includes questions related to disciplinary policies, student support and 

engagement, educator support, integration of prosocial skills into the school day, 

prevalence of bullying and harassment, and student and teacher victimization;

✔ solicits student, family, and school personnel responses; 

✔ will yield reliable information (schools can draw from previously tested surveys 

as a starting point); and 

✔ can be completed quickly (ideally in less than 20 minutes).

The School Discipline Consensus Report:Strategies from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in 

School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System, p. 37

Action Item #3:

Establish clear benchmarks and goals 

for improving school climate and 

significantly reducing disproportionate 

outcomes in the imposition of 

school discipline.

While every school’s context and challenges are different, it should be supported to view itself as a part 

of a larger mission. Lead the establishment of clear, aggressive, yet practical benchmarks and goals for 

improving climate at every school while also significantly reducing the assignment of disproportionate, 

discriminatory discipline between groups of students. Moreover, you and your leadership team should 

work with schools to help them establish school-specific benchmarks that contribute to overall district 

improvement goals. Throughout this process, you should prioritize communication between the district 

and schools. Moreover, take care to allot sufficient time and resources to set meaningful outcome goals 

and drive better communication and sharing of promising practices among district and school-based 

staff. Below are some ideas on how to get started.

✔ Review the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice’s January 2014 guidance 

on implementing safe and supportive school climate and discipline, including information on 

districts’ and schools’ legal responsibility to ensure nondiscriminatory implementation of school 

discipline policies.
7

✔ Engage community stakeholders in establishing short- and long-term district-wide goals to improve 

school climate and significantly reduce the assignment of disproportionate, discriminatory discipline 

between groups of students.

✔ In setting new benchmarks and goals, prioritize the use of evidence-based prevention strategies, 

such as tiered supports that promote positive student behavior, to build on existing efforts and past 

successes to help inspire confidence and improve efficacy among stakeholders. 

✔ Incorporate the perspectives and wisdom of principals, teachers, other school staff, students, and 

families in the goal-setting process. 

 

Action Item #4:

Review, revise, and refine school 

climate and discipline policies, 

including support services 

and structures, and the budget 

funding this work.

It is critically important that you and your leadership team work closely with school board members and 

school leaders to create and sustain effective school climate and discipline systems and practices based 

on district- and school-wide goals. This may necessitate the review, revision, and refinement of existing 

school climate and discipline policies. Stakeholders at every level of the system should be intimately 

involved in this process, and you should ensure that the process is inclusive and representative of the 

diversity of perspectives and experiences within the district and at individual schools. Below are some 

ideas on how to get started.

✔ Set high expectations for staff and student behavior, and adopt supportive, instructional, and 

therapeutic approaches to school climate and discipline that do not hinge on exclusionary discipline.

✔ Involve families, students, and school personnel in the development and implementation of school 

climate and discipline policies — especially codes of conduct — and communicate those policies 

regularly and clearly.

✔ Provide sufficient and consistent funding across the district and within every school to ensure the 

proper development, implementation, and improvement of school climate and discipline policies and 

practices.

✔ Create policies that include appropriate procedures for students with disabilities and due process for 

all students.

✔ Ensure that all policies are communicated in a language-accessible manner.
8

PROMISING PRACTICE FROM The School Discipline Consensus Report

Welcome Team: Rainier Beach High School, 

Seattle, WA

Each day, a handful of staff at Rainier Beach High School, a Title I school of 

approximately 400 students, spends the first period at the front entrance of the school 

greeting students who are tardy and helps them develop a plan for prompt arrival the 

next day. When students arrive late, a member of the team leads them through a short 

reflection exercise and discusses how to be on time regularly. Rather than being a 

punitive measure, the welcome team’s response provides an opportunity for students 

to talk about the reasons for being late, particularly when it happens frequently, and 

to underscore for them the importance of punctuality. In addition to serving as a 

dropout prevention strategy, the process allows the welcome team to form positive 

relationships with students and can provide the first level of intervention if a student 

is experiencing problems, such as difficulties at home or on the way to school. The 

welcome team can help connect students with the services and supports they need. 

Students spend an average of three to five minutes with the welcome team. After 

speaking with the student, welcome team members log the tardy and telephone 

parents or family members to let them know about the student’s late arrival. If a 

student is chronically late five times within a two-week period, school administrators 

hold an in-depth conference with the student, welcome team members, and the 

parents/guardians. This often opens up communication and may help schools identify 

families in distress that could use additional school and social service supports. 

Implemented for the first time in the 2012–13 school year, the program helped 

Rainier High School reduce tardiness. The school also gained valuable information 

about barriers to students arriving at school on time, such as public transportation cost 

and scheduling. The school even set up an automatic wake-up call for several students 

who said their morning alarms did not work.

The School Discipline Consensus Report:Strategies from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in 

School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System, p. 48
9

Properly train and support central office staff, school staff, students, and families so they are successful 

in implementing and sustaining school climate and discipline reform. Your staff and school communities 

need time to learn and practice new policies, with ample opportunities to experience quick wins, reflect 

and learn from failure, and create sustainable progress. You can help ensure such community-wide 

improvement only through consistent and collaborative structures that bring people together for a 

common cause and elevate individual aspirations for a better future. You and your leadership team are 

responsible for establishing the district-wide conditions that will allow such structures to take root and 

flourish at individual schools. Below are some ideas on how to get started.

✔ Assess the effectiveness of existing training on school climate and discipline issues for administrators, 

teachers, staff, students, and families.

✔ Ensure regular training and supports for all school personnel — including teachers, principals, support 

staff, and school-based law enforcement officers — on how to engage students and support positive, 

productive behaviors.

✔ Ensure that school leaders are properly trained and supported to communicate and implement new 

school climate and discipline policies within their school communities in a collaborative manner.

✔ Ensure that any school-based law enforcement officers’ roles focus on improving school safety and 

reducing inappropriate referrals to law enforcement.

✔ Collaborate with local mental health, child welfare, law enforcement, public housing, and juvenile 

justice agencies and other stakeholders to align resources, prevention strategies, and intervention 

services.

Action Item #5: 

Provide ongoing training and supports 

for school staff, students, and families.
10

STATE-LEVEL SPOTLIGHT FROM The School Discipline Consensus 

Report

Connecticut School Climate Training

Connecticut has a history of prioritizing and providing school climate support to 

educators. In 2004, through the Connecticut Accountability for Learning Initiative, 

the state offered to educators in all districts free training related to several key 

priorities, including school climate improvement, providing culturally responsive 

education, and differentiated instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs). 

Currently, the Connecticut State Department of Education provides extensive 

statewide school climate training at no cost for educators and principals, with 

priority given to those working in schools with the greatest need. The seven days of 

training consist of the following three components: 

1. Two-day basic training seminar focused on what school climate is, and why 

it is important, and strength-based models and effective strategies to establish a 

positive and respectful school climate. 

2. Three-day advanced certification training to build the knowledge and skills of 

educators. This train-the-trainer model helps develop the capacity of educators 

to go back to their home schools and provide basic training and on-site technical 

assistance to other school staff.

3. Two-day training for school climate committees. As part of Connecticut’s 

anti-bullying law, each school is required to establish a “safe school climate 

committee.” This training helps committee members understand their roles and 

responsibilities, as well as providing them with examples of how to use school 

climate data to inform their improvement efforts. 

For more information see 

http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2618&q=321794.

The School Discipline Consensus Report:Strategies from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in 

School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System, p. 94
11

Action Item #6: 

Pilot reforms among early adopters, 

and then leverage lessons learned to 

inform and implement 

district-wide reforms.

Your capacity to implement sustainable practices at the district and school levels is key to ensuring 

improvements in school climate and discipline. It may be advantageous for you and your leadership 

team to pilot reforms among early adopters — school sites that demonstrate sufficient capacity and 

enthusiasm to test new policies and practices — whose experience can then be leveraged to inform 

broader implementation. Moreover, early adopters can serve as the ambassadors and mentors that your 

district will need to maintain momentum amidst challenging work. Learn from effective practitioners on 

the ground about what works best and what is sustainable. Below are some ideas on how to get started.

✔ Identify and engage early adopters in the development of school-based implementation plans and 

feedback loops that can inform district-wide reform efforts.

✔ Celebrate the successes and acknowledge the specific challenges among early adopters to lower the 

stakes for smart risk-taking that can drive sustainable improvements.

✔ Engage local research institutions, institutions of higher education, and philanthropies to support the 

investigation and analysis of the impact of early school climate and discipline reforms.

✔ Engage early adopters to support other schools and colleagues before, during, and after district-wide 

implementation efforts.

STATE-LEVEL SPOTLIGHT FROM The School Discipline Consensus Report

Restorative Practices in California

San Francisco Unified School District 

In 2009, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) adopted district-wide policies 

to train and provide continuing professional development to staff on carrying out restorative 

practices. SFUSD has developed an implementation guide and supports school site 

leaders through a monthly professional learning community. Following the application of 

restorative practices, the district reported a reduction in suspensions from 3,098 suspensions 

issued in the 2009–10 school year to 1,921 in the 2012–13 school year. 

Demonstrating its commitment to the approach, the local teachers union (United Educators 

of San Francisco) included restorative practices as part of its contract. In addition to 

stipulating that each school year start with a discussion about how restorative strategies can 

be used in the classroom, the contract also states that when a teacher recommends a student 

for suspension, the teacher and the school administrator have the option of discussing 

alternative responses that reflect a restorative approach. 
12

Action Item #7:

Prioritize transparency, communication,

 and continuous improvement.

Your leadership in improving school climate and discipline outcomes is essential to ensuring the success 

of American public education in the 21st century. This requires that you and your leadership team choose 

to engage school communities in an inclusive, democratic reform process that values the perspective 

and experience of every individual. Your district’s commitment to transparency, communication, and 

continuous improvement signals respect for people and their values and aspirations for the future, without 

which sustainable change and improvement are not possible. Below are some ideas on how to get started. 

✔ Gather input from families, students, teachers, and school personnel to continue to improve school 

climate and prevent, identify, reduce, and eliminate discriminatory discipline and negative unintended 

consequences.

✔ Incorporate the public reporting of school climate and discipline data into district improvement plans 

and ensure a regular place for discussion of these issues at school board meetings and community town 

halls.

✔ Communicate deliberately and consistently with schools, students, and families about progress and 

challenges to meeting district-wide benchmarks and goals for improving school climate and discipline.

Oakland Unified School District 

In 2010, after a three-year pilot of restorative practices at an Oakland Unified School 

District (OUSD) middle school, the school board passed a resolution to adopt a districtwide policy of restorative practices in an effort to move away from punitive, zerotolerance policies and eliminate racially disproportionate disciplinary outcomes. Through 

the restorative process, OUSD is working to integrate positive behavioral supports and 

social and emotional learning at participating sites. It also has been strengthening family 

engagement in issues related to school climate and discipline. The district reported a 46 

percent decrease in out-of-school suspensions at one high school, and a nearly 50 percent 

decline in suspensions at a second high school, both for the 2011–12 school year during 

which they implemented restorative practices.

Fresno School District 

In 2013, the Fresno Unified School Board voted to implement restorative practices in 

several schools and authorized $500,000 to expand the use of restorative practices in the 

district. Fresno Unified students, who created a youth advocacy group, Students United 

to Create a Climate of Engagement, Support and Safety (SUCCESS), are working with 

the district to develop the specifics of the plan, which will emphasize interactions among 

students and educators to repair relationships and help students learn from their mistakes.

The School Discipline Consensus Report:Strategies from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in 

School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System, p. 83
13

Federal Guidance and Related Resources

The following information is provided as background on federal guidance and related resources that 

are available to support local school climate and discipline reform and improvement efforts. It can be 

utilized to help develop the capacity of individual school districts to manage this challenging but hugely 

important work.

U.S. Department of Education School Climate and Discipline Web Page

www.ed.gov/school-discipline 

This Web page includes information related to

• expulsion and suspension practices in early learning settings 

• ED-DOJ School Discipline Guidance Package

• school climate and discipline tools and technical assistance, including ED’s new school climate 

and discipline root cause analysis resource — Addressing the Root Causes of Disciplinary 

Disparities: An Educator’s Action Planning Guide

• Supportive School Discipline Webinar Series

U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection Web Page

The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) collects data on key education and civil rights issues in 

our nation's public schools for use by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) 

in its enforcement and monitoring efforts regarding schools’ and districts’ obligation to provide equal 

educational opportunity. The CRDC database, with hundreds of data elements, is fully accessible to the 

public. All data presented are self-reported by school districts. 

• CRDC 2009–10 and 2011–12 District or School Reports 

http://ocrdata.ed.gov/DistrictSchoolSearch 

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

http://ocrdata.ed.gov/Downloads/CRDC-School-Discipline-Snapshot.pdf

• For more information about the CRDC, please visit http://ocrdata.ed.gov

School Discipline Consensus Report, Council of State Governments Justice Center

The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in 

School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System presents a comprehensive set of consensus-based and 

field-driven recommendations to improve conditions for learning for all students and educators, better 

support students with behavioral needs, improve police-school partnerships, and keep students out 

of the juvenile justice system for minor offenses. More than 100 advisors representing policymakers, 

school administrators, teachers, behavioral health professionals, police, court leaders, probation officials, 

juvenile correctional leaders, parents, and youths from across the country helped develop more than 

two dozen policies and 60 recommendations to keep more students in productive classrooms and out of 

courtrooms. 

•	 The School Discipline Consensus Report 

http://csgjusticecenter.org/youth/school-discipline-consensus-report/ 
14

Creating safe, supportive environments where all students can engage in learning is a shared responsibility, and we need your help.

LEA or School Logo LEA or School Name

How to Contact Your District’s School Climate and Discipline Improvement TeamContact:Phone:Email:Website:

As an educator, you should know that positive school climate is associated with better outcomes for students, including limited incidences of school violence; increased feelings of safety by students, faculty, and staff; high academic achievement; minimal engagement in risky behavior, including alcohol and substance abuse; high levels of student engagement and selfdiscipline; strong attachment to school and positive student relationships with adults and peers; and higher levels of staff satisfaction, involvement, and investment.The following is a brief list of possible actions you can to take to help improve school climate and discipline:

• Model appropriate behavior. All children can exhibit appropriate behavior if expectations, rules, and routines are positively 

stated, easy to remember, and appropriate for the environment. 

• Intervene early. Intervene before challenging behaviors occur to make them more manageable and less likely to escalate. • Differentiate your approach. Just as it is good practice to differentiate instruction to meet the individual needs of students, so too 

is it important to use a diverse range of supportive strategies with students. 

• Use research- and evidence-based interventions proven to be effective. When teachers incorporate research- and evidencebased interventions that have been validated for the purpose and population for which they will be used, teachers are more 

successful.

Sample Postcard for Educators

Sample District and School-level Postcard Templates for Educator and Parent/Family Engagement.

• Data should drive decision making. Use existing data collection systems 

to monitor students’ engagement and behavior so that interventions can be developed and deployed efficaciously. Student progress should be monitored frequently and adjustments made to maximize the impact of supportive interventions to improve climate and discipline.

• Regularly engage the student’s family. Parent and family engagement, 

participation, and partnership are essential components of ensuring positive outcomes for all students.
15

Know the facts about school climate and discipline.

Research clearly shows that discipline policies and practices that remove students from engaging in instruction — such as suspensions, expulsions, and inappropriate referrals to law enforcement — generally fail to help students to improve their behavior and fail to improve school safety. Data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) show the following:

• African-American students are three times more likely than their white peers to 

be expelled or suspended.

• Although African-American students represent 16 percent of the public school 

student population, they make up 33 percent of students suspended once, 42 percent of those suspended more than once, and 34 percent of students expelled.

• African-American and Latino students make up 40 percent of the student 

population, but over 50 percent of the students referred to law enforcement or involved in school-related arrests.

• Black girls are suspended at higher rates (12 percent) than girls of any other 

race or ethnicity and most boys; American Indian and Alaska Native girls are suspended at higher rates (7 percent) than white boys (6 percent) or girls (2 percent).

• Racial disparities in out-of-school suspensions also start early; black children 

represent 18 percent of preschool enrollment but 48 percent of the preschool children suspended more than once.

• Although students served by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

(IDEA) represent 12 percent of students in the country, they are more than twice as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions as non-IDEA students (13 percent versus 6 percent), and they make up 25 percent of students referred to law enforcement and 25 percent of students who are the subject of a schoolrelated arrest.

• Students with disabilities (under the IDEA) represent 12 percent of students but 

nearly 75 percent of the students who are physically restrained in their schools. 

Additionally, research has found that the overwhelming majority of suspensions are determined at the discretion of local school officials and not mandated by state law or policy.

Creating and sustaining schools with a safe, supportive school climate and discipline are challenging, complex, and absolutely essential to improving students’ connection to school and helping them to achieve

• higher academic achievement and 

graduation rates; 

• better school attendance; • increased motivation and better selfesteem; • lower rates of suspension; • decreased use of drugs and alcohol; 

and

• fewer instances of violent behavior.

Learn more about the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Resources on Improving School Climate and Discipline at www.ed.gov/school-discipline 

Sample Postcard for Educators
16

Sample Postcard for Parents and Families

Creating safe, supportive environments where all students can engage in learning is a shared responsibility, and we need your help.

LEA or School Logo LEA or School Name

How to Contact Your District’s School Climate and Discipline Improvement TeamContact:Phone:Email:Website:

As a parent or family member of our school community, you should know that positive school climate is associated with better outcomes for students, including limited incidences of school violence; increased feelings of safety by students, faculty, and staff; high academic achievement; minimal engagement in risky behaviors, including alcohol and substance abuse; high levels of student engagement and self-discipline; strong attachment to school; and positive student relationships with adults and peers. Your engagement, participation, and partnership are essential components of ensuring positive outcomes for your child in school. 

The following is a brief list of what you can do to help your child’s school ensure a positive school climate and discipline:

• Make sure you and your child read and understand the school’s code of conduct and student and family handbook.• Communicate the high expectations you have, both academically and behaviorally, to your child and to his or her 

school principal, teachers, and staff.

• Contact your school’s climate and discipline improvement team and 

seek ways to get involved in your child’s school. Your engagement will help the school build a safer and more supportive school climate for your child.

• Become aware of school counselors, parent-school liaisons, or 

others who might be able to help you resolve any discipline matters concerning your child.
17

Sample Postcard for Parents and Families

The Impact of Parent and Family Engagement on Student Success

You are part of your child’s school community!Decades of research and experience show that when parents are involved in their children’s education, students have• higher academic achievement and graduation rates; • better school attendance; • increased motivation and better self-esteem; 

Learn more about the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Resources on Improving School Climate and Discipline at www.ed.gov/school-discipline 

• lower rates of suspension; • decreased use of drugs and alcohol; and • fewer instances of violent behavior.When parents engage their children’s school regularly, it reinforces the view in the child’s mind that school and home are connected, and that school is an integral part of the whole family’s life. Get involved today!

Include a photo 

of, for example. a 

parent-teacher-student 

conference.
18

Endnotes

1

 Roberts, S., Kemp, J., and Truman, J., Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2012 (Washington, 

DC: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice 

Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 2013). 

2

 Fabelo T. et al., Breaking Schools’ Rules: A Statewide Study of How School Discipline Relates 

to Students’ Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement. (New York: Council of State Governments 

Justice Center, 2011); Aizer, A. and Doyle Jr., J., Juvenile Incarceration, Human Capital and Future 

Crime: Evidence from Randomly-Assigned Judges. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) 

Working Paper 19102. (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013); Carmichael, 

D., Whitten, G., and Voloudakis, M., Study of Minority Over-representation in the Texas Juvenile 

Justice System, Final Report (Public Policy Research Institute, Texas A&M University, 2005). 

3

 U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection, available at: 

http://ocrdata.ed.gov/

4

 U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. Civil Rights Data Collection: Data Snapshot 

(School Discipline), March 2014. Available at http://ocrdata.ed.gov/Downloads/CRDC-SchoolDiscipline-Snapshot.pdf 

5

 Fabelo, T. et al., Breaking Schools’ Rules: A Statewide Study of How School Discipline Relates 

to Students’ Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement. (New York: Council of State Governments 

Justice Center, 2011).

6

 Council of State Governments Justice Center. The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies 

from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System, (New 

York: Author, 2014). Page 29.

7

 Karcher, M.J., “Connectedness and School Violence: A Framework for Developmental 

Interventions,” in Handbook of School Violence, ed. Edwin R. Gerler (Binghamton, NY: Haworth, 

2004), 7–40; Skiba, R. et al., “Beyond Guns, Drugs and Gangs: The Structure of Student Perceptions 

of School Safety,” Journal of School Violence, 3, nos. 2-3 (2004): 149-171; Wang, M.T. et al., “A 

Tobit Regression Analysis of the Covariation between Middle School Students’ Perceived School 

Climate and Behavioral Problems,” Journal of Research on Adolescence 20, no. 2 (2010): 274–286.

8

 MacNiel, A.J., Prater, D.L., and Busch, S., “The Effects of School Culture and Climate on Student 

Achievement,” in International Journal of Leadership in Education 12, no. 1 (2009): 73-84; Niehaus, 

K., Rudasill, K.M., and Rakes, C.R., “A Longitudinal Study of School Connectedness and Academic 

Outcomes Across Sixth Grade,” Journal of School Psychology 50, no. 4 (2012): 443-460.

9

 Wilkins, J., “School Characteristics that Influence Student Attendance: Experiences of Students in a 

School Avoidance Program,” High School Journal 91, no. 3 (2008): 12–24.

10 Roby, D.E., “Research on School Attendance and Student Achievement: A Study of Ohio Schools,” 

Educational Research Quarterly 28, no. 1 (2004): 3–16.

11 Romer, D., Issue Brief on Drug Prevention in Schools (Philadelphia: The Annenberg Public Policy 

Center of the University of Pennsylvania, 2013).

12 Ibid.

13 Wu, S.C. et al., “Student Suspension: A Critical Reappraisal,” The Urban Review 14, no. 5 (1982): 

245-303; Shirley, E.L.M. and Cornell, D.G., “The Contribution of Student Perceptions of School 

Climate to Understanding the Disproportionate Punishment of African American Students in a Middle 
19

School,” School Psychology International 33, no. 2 (2012): 115-134; Wang, M.T. et al., “A Tobit 

Regression Analysis of the Covariation between Middle School Students’ Perceived School Climate 

and Behavioral Problems,” Journal of Research on Adolescence 20, no. 2 (2010), 274–286.

14 Libbey, H.P., “Measuring Student Relationships to School: Attachment, Bonding, Connectedness, 

and Engagement,” Journal of School Health 74, no. 7 (2004): 274–283.

15 Niehaus, K., Rudasill, K.M., and Rakes, C.R., “A Longitudinal Study of School Connectedness and 

Academic Outcomes Across Sixth Grade,” Journal of School Psychology 50, no. 4 (2012): 443–460; 

Stewart, E.B., “Individual and School Structural Effects on African American High School Students’ 

Academic Achievement,” High School Journal 91, no. 2 (2008): 16–34.

16 Louis, K.S. et al., Learning from Leadership: Investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning 

(New York: The Wallace Foundation, 2010); Goldring, E. et al., Assessing Learning-Centered 

Leadership: Connections to Research, Professional Standards, and Current Practices (New York: The 

Wallace Foundation, 2007); Lavian, R.H., “The Impact of Organizational Climate on Burnout among 

Homeroom Teachers and Special Education Teachers (Full Classes/Individual Pupils) in Mainstream 

Schools,” Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice 18, no. 2 (2012): 233–247; Grayson, J.L. and 

Alvarez, H.K., “School Climate Factors Relating to Teacher Burnout: A Mediator Model,” Teaching 

and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies 24, no. 5 (2008): 1349–

1363; Ingersoll, R.M. and Smith, T.M., “The Wrong Solution to the Teacher Shortage,” Educational 

Leadership 60, no. 8 (2003): 30–33; Bryk, A.S. and Schneider, B., Trust in Schools: A Core Resource 

for Improvement (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2002).

17 U.S. Departments of Education and Justice School Discipline Guidance Package, January 2014, 

available at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/index.html 

18 Council of State Governments Justice Center. The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies 

from the Field to Keep Students Engaged in School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System, (New 

York: Author, 2014).




The Department of Education’s mission is to promote 

student achievement and preparation for global 

competitiveness by fostering educational excellence 

and ensuring equal access.

www.ed.gov