NASBE Awards Grants To Help States Examine And Improve School Discipline Policies And Practices

ARLINGTON, Va., June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) awarded grants to three state boards of education to revise and implement new state student discipline policies that limit the use of out-of-school punishments. The grant awards will support policy efforts in Georgia, Michigan, and West Virginia through early 2014.

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The grants are part of NASBE's project on Examining and Reforming State Disciplinary Policies from a State-Level Perspective. All three states have the goal of decreasing out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and law enforcement referrals, and/or improving discipline reporting by:

• convening multidisciplinary task forces to raise awareness of ongoing school discipline issues;
• strengthening advocacy and communication efforts in delivering awareness regarding student discipline and its impact on school climate across the state;
• proposing amendments to existing state board rules, new board rules, or the removal of existing rules;
• examining disaggregated discipline data in order to uncover any disparate impacts on minorities and students receiving special education and engaging stakeholders in conversations about strategies to address these concerns; and
• supporting their state departments of education in their efforts to provide technical assistance to local districts.

The NASBE grants will help the chosen states continue and extend their work in this field. For instance, Georgia's school discipline task force is examining data to determine the effectiveness of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. In Michigan, work is being done on an online resource to further implementation of State Board Model Policy on Alternatives to Suspensions and Expulsions in Schools. West Virginia's task force on student discipline is working on comprehensive statewide and county-level reports of disciplinary incidents and using the information to establish goals to improve school discipline practices. It is also preparing a trend analysis of school climate/culture improvement outcomes from the growing body of data collected across the state   

"Many states are starting to consider alternatives to out-of-school punishment of students, especially when it is clear minority groups are disproportionately disciplined in these ways," said NASBE Interim Executive Director Brad Hull. "Research shows us that students who are ejected from school are more likely to drop out and wind up in the criminal justice system. There are no simple solutions here, but when students are not in school, they cannot succeed. And when that happens, we all lose."

NASBE's school discipline project and the state grants are funded through an agreement with The Atlantic Philanthropies. The grants were awarded on a competitive basis, and all applications were reviewed by an outside review panel.

The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America's state and territorial boards of education. NASBE exists to strengthen State Boards as the preeminent educational policymaking bodies for citizens and students. For more information, please visit www.nasbe.org.

The Atlantic Philanthropies are dedicated to bringing about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. Atlantic is a limited life foundation that makes grants through its five programme areas: Ageing, Children & Youth, Population Health, Reconciliation & Human Rights, and Founding Chairman. Atlantic is active in Bermuda, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam. To learn more please visit: www.atlanticphilanthropies.org.

SOURCE National Association of State Boards of Education