1. education
2. school

VOLUME 13, ISSUE 5
Quick Tips
SEARCHES
Explain under what
conditions strip searches
are not permissible.
Define what constitutes a
strip search. Stipulate when
law enforcement should be
involved in or conduct the
search.
GANGS
Understand that gangs
use fashion to announce
their affiliation. Enforce
anti-gang dress codes to
prevent gang members from
recruiting new members at
school. Recognize when
rival gang members are in
proximity.
LEGAL UPDATES
It’s your call: Did ‘pantsing’
of student during gym
subject district to Title IX
liability? Page 2
Immunity protects police
from soccer players’ 4th
Amendment claim. Page 11
Lewd nature of cartoon
in student rag justifies
cutting it before publication.
Page 11
State court dismissal bars
new claim arising from pupil’s
abuse in van.
Page 12
Failure to link pupil’s injury
to operation of bus parks
negligence suit. Page 12
JULY 2011
Cover Story
Teach students
how to handle being bullied
While adults must help stop bullyIs bullying
ing, students also need strategies for
driving you
when adults aren’t around, said a New
bananas?
York speaker who promotes bullying
See
what apples and
intervention in schools. Her daughter,
bananas
have to do with
who has Asperger syndrome, developed
bullying interventions.
strategies to fend off bullying in middle
See page 3.
school. Teach students simple comebacks and other strategies to shift a power imbalance and
reduce bullying incentives. Full story, page 3.
Highlights
Integrate leadership when launching discipline programs
Schools that focus on building a homegrown leadership team will be more
effective in launching a new discipline program. Page 4
How do programs you are considering measure up?
Use this checklist based on criteria developed by the NJ Coalition for Bullying
Awareness and Prevention to rate discipline programs. Page 5
Avoid complicating suspension, expulsion of students
Hear what a California attorney has to say about avoiding missteps that can
complicate defending a recommendation to suspend or expel a student. Page 6
Nontraditional schools turn at-risk students into grads
See how Memphis schools are helping at-risk kids graduate by planning
special incentives that help them overcome barriers they face in regular
schools. Page 7
Teach staff about student refocusing to cut misbehavior
Instead of merely sending a student to sit in the corner, teach him to use that
time to refocus on class and devise a plan for doing better next time. Page 8
Researchers to study stress in middle school teachers
A new study will focus on possible links between middle school teacher stress
and student behavior to help administrators improve student achievement. Page 9
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The School Discipline Advisor
It’s Your Call
Did ‘pantsing’ during gym subject district to Title IX liability?
A ninth-grader was in gym class when a boy pulled
her sweatpants down to her ankles, exposing her body
and underwear to the class. She screamed, sank to
the floor, and pulled her pants back up.
Thereafter, the female student filed a sexual harassment complaint. As part of the district’s response, the
principal met with the superintendent and decided
to suspend the boy. The district also set behavioral
conditions for the student when he returned to school,
although it did not required heightened monitoring.
The behavioral conditions did not specifically target
sexually inappropriate behavior, although there was
evidence that the gym incident was not isolated.
After the California district disciplined the boy, staff
members learned that other students were picking on
the female student for filing her complaint. The principal explained that he did not investigate the teasing
because the victim failed to file a formal complaint and
no staff member observed the incidents.
The student’s mother asserted Title IX violations.
Did district respond appropriately to harassment,
retaliation complaints?
A. No. The district’s disciplinary plan was flawed,
and it did not investigate the teasing.
B. Yes. The principal and superintendent designed
a disciplinary response that included suspension and
behavioral restrictions.
C. Yes. The district did not have to investigate the
alleged teasing because the reports were not substantiated, no staff member observed the incidents, and
the student did not file a formal complaint specifically
regarding those incidents.
How OCR found: A.
The district violated Title IX by failing to fashion
an appropriate disciplinary response and not investigating alleged retaliation of which it had notice, OCR
concluded. Surprise Valley (CA) Joint Unified Sch. Dist.,
111 LRP 28312 (OCR 2010).
If a district determines that harassment has occurred, it must tailor its response to stop the harassment, eliminate any hostile environment, and prevent
the harassment from recurring, including disciplining
the harasser.
OCR pointed out that the behavioral conditions the
district imposed on the boy did not target sexually
harassing behavior. Furthermore, the district not provide for any specific monitoring of the student. Thus,
its response was not tailored to prevent harassment
from recurring.
The district also violated Title IX by failing to respond
when it learned that classmates were teasing the female
student. “The District is obligated to respond to notice
of possible retaliation against a student complainant
by taking reasonable steps to investigate — it may not
require substantiation, direct observance by staff, or a
separate complaint prior to responding,” OCR wrote.
Answer B was incorrect. The response was not designed to prevent the harassment from recurring.
Answer C was incorrect. The district was required
to respond because it learned of the retaliation.
Editor’s note: This feature is not intended as instructional material or to replace legal advice. n
The School Discipline Advisor
Publisher:
Kenneth F. Kahn, Esq.
Editorial Director:
Julie Kline
Staff Writers:
James Michael Brodie
Emily Ann Brown
Adam Dolge
Jean Gossman
Wangui Njuguna
Kim Riley
Mark W. Sherman
Sarah Sparks
Jeanne Sweeney
Frank Wolfe
Editor:
Karen Bagwell
Product Group Manager:
Jeanine Craner
Legal Editors:
Joseph L. Pfrommer, Esq.
Amy E. Slater, Esq.
Production Director:
Joseph Ciocca
VP, Marketing and
Customer Service:
Jana Shellington
VP Editorial:
Claude J. Werder
Washington Bureau:
News Editor:
Charles Hendrix
July 2011
Publications Director:
Roberta J. Crusemire
Copyright © 2011 LRP Publications
This publication is designed to provide accurate
and authoritative information regarding the subject matter covered.
It is provided with the understanding that the publisher and editor are
not engaged in rendering legal counsel. If legal advice is required, the
service of a competent professional should be sought.
The School Discipline Advisor (ISSN 1526-0178) is published monthly
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The School Discipline Advisor
Cover Story
Teach students how to handle being bullied
“Seeing a person squirm and get upset
gratifies bullies the most,” said Jackie
Humans, a Northport, N.Y., author and
speaker who shares anti-bullying tactics in schools. Districts can reduce incentives for bullying by teaching victims
how to withhold that emotional satisfaction.
Humans shares with students tactics that
worked for her daughter, who has Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder characterized
by difficulties in social interaction and restricted,
repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.
Humans said her daughter, while in middle
school, confided that she considered suicide to
end taunting at school, Humans said.
Instead, Humans said, her daughter decided
she’d first try “playing little power shifting games
with kids who bullied her — and the bullying
stopped.”
Adults must also take steps to end bullying for
victims, but there are times when adults are not
around when bullying occurs, Humans said. She
shared her tips to help you teach victims how to
handle bullying situation but notes her tactics
are not for physical bullying.
• Answer with nonsense. Discombobulating a
bully is not rocket science, she said; it can be as
simple as saying “Pineapple sauce!” For example
a larger boy was bullying a petite third-grade
girl. She gave him a big smile and simply said:
“Apples!” The boy was so flustered he didn’t know
what to do, and bystanders began tittering. He
repeated, “Didn’t you hear me, I said you’re ugly!”
With a wide smile the girl turned to him and said:
“Bananas!” That “really brought the house down,”
Humans said, and he fled.
• Ask sneaky questions. This is effective when
a peer accuses a student of being gay, whether
he is or not, Humans said. For example, a peer
says, “You’re so gay!” The student replies, “Why
do you care?” The peer quickly answers, “I don’t!”
The student replies, “But you want my attention,
right?” The peer says, “Wrong, I don’t want your
attention!” The student replies, “Good, now we
can both be happy,” and leaves. Or, a girl victim
can ask a boy bully, “You keep trying to get me
to pay attention to you. Isn’t that what boys do
when they like a girl?” Trap the bully with his
own words, Humans said.
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• Make a bully
Key points
look silly. This is effective for students
• Bullies often pick on vicwith disabilities or
tims they can easily upset.
overweight kids, Hu• Teach victims to withmans said. For examhold that emotional satisple, a peer may say,
faction.
“Kind of lame, aren’t
• Provide victims exyou?” The student can
amples of how to stay cool in
simply slap his own
bullying situations. n
cheek and say, “Who
told you?”
• Say thanks. This confuses bullies. For example, Humans said, reply, “It’s so nice of you
to say my hair is ugly; I worked hard to make it
look this bad, thanks for noticing.”
• Offer help. Humans suggested saying, “Still
plan to go on about my freckles? Here, let me help
you out, call me Carrot Top because I have red
hair. Need any more new names?”
• Use wrong names. For example, say, “What’s
your name again? Samantha? Or is it Sydney?
What’s that, Sarah?” Bullies don’t like this, Humans said.
• Pretend to be a bully’s boss. Say, “I grant
you permission to say that!” Bullies don’t like
looking as if they are not the one in charge, Humans said.
• Put it in writing. Student can start a journal and record the times they were bullied. The
author should include who, what, where, and
list witnesses. Explain that if the first adult who
views the journal doesn’t help, try others.
• Just look bored. Bullies can’t stand bullying someone doesn’t care about what they say
or do.
• Picture positive ideas. Keep picturing how
fun it will be to share with your friend or par ent how successful you were in ignoring a bully,
Humans said.
• Compliment yourself. Think, “There’s
nothing wrong with me, everyone gets picked on
sometimes,” and recall a compliment you received,
Humans said.
• Count silently. Ignore a bully by acting busy
and make yourself less fun to bully around.
• Stick with others. Most bullies pick on kids
who are alone. Find others who are being bullied
and hang out together. Bullies do not like to be
outnumbered.
E-mail Jackie Humans at info@jackiehumans
.com. Visit her at www.jackiehumans.com. n
Vol. 13, Iss. 5
Strategy
The School Discipline Advisor
Integrate leadership when launching discipline programs
Districts can find it difficult to get
state-mandated discipline changes off the
ground at the school building level unless
they focus on building leadership skills
from the top down.
Schools that build homegrown leadership teams
will be more effective in launching new discipline
programs, a New Jersey behavioral expert said.
The key is to start working with school leaders,
not students, said Stuart Green, who is in charge
of behavioral health at Overlook Medical Center
and Atlantic Health System based in Morristown,
N.J. He also founded the New Jersey Coalition for
Bullying Awareness and Prevention.
“One common mistake that school officials can
make is to lecture to kids about behavior and then
turn around and engage in harassment or intimidation to get them to behave,” Green said. “Making
a new discipline program work requires changing
the school culture from the top down and from the
inside out.”
Green shared pointers to help you launch a new
discipline program.
• Win buy-in from top leaders. Launching a
successful discipline program requires aligning the
attitudes, understanding, and interactions of top
school leaders, Green said. In other words, when a
principal does her homework in gaining the support
of top officials, such as the superintendent, moving
ahead at the school level is easier, he said. Simply
announcing to staff that the state passed a new law
on bullying and harassment, for example, is not as
effective as when staff know that a new discipline
program has strong support from the district.
• Nurture homegrown commitment. Some
districts may try to bring in outside experts or
consultants to help facilitate discipline changes,
Green said. Instead, principals should look for
ways to make discipline changes from within the
school, he said. Successful discipline changes do
not happen in a vacuum but result from the way
staff work together to implement new programs,
Green said.
“When staff really gets it, while there may still be
challenges, this type of staff can get the job done,” he
said. Principals must take time to nurture a sense
of strong staff commitment so that new discipline
approaches become a personal staff priority, he
said. Work through local staff leaders rather than
outsiders, he said. Unless a program is a team efJuly 2011
fort and locally owned,
Key points
it will be difficult to
make changes that
• Win top district support
staff receive well and
for new discipline program.
use, he said.
• G a i n s t a f f bu y - i n
• Avoid one-shot
schoolwide.
presentations. A dis• Set examples for stutrict may want to
dents. n
hold a quick, one-time
training and get on
with launching a program, Green said. However,
staff need more than odd bits of information. Avoid
using a “flavor of the month or year approach,”
covering different broad discipline topics in succession, he said. Instead, build from in a unified,
focused manner that progressively informs staff “so
that you enrich the understanding of staff about
the new approach,” he said.
• Get staff on the same page. Surveying teachers about their attitudes toward student discipline
can help you identify in advance corrosive elements
that school leaders may face in attempting to gain
buy-in for a new discipline plan. This can make
it easier to head off divisive issues and gain staff
consensus.
• Show students changes first. A survey can identify staff members who may use negative discipline
tactics in class, a problem that’s not that difficult to
detect due to parental complaints, Green said. For
example, some principals or staff may “use fear and
power-based tactics to gain control with students,”
he said. “This behavior can be disabling” when a
school is trying to launch a new positive behavioral
support program, he said. Rather than writing off
such staff, help them change. Provide good feedback
and convey that for students to change their behavior,
staff or leadership may need to change too. When
a principal or teacher has used fear-based tactics
stops and is more positive with students, student
behavior will likely change too, he said.
Visit the New Jersey Coalition for Bullying Awareness and Prevention at www.njbullying.org/ and
visit Atlantic Health Systems at www.atlantichealth
.org/. n
E-mail us
We would like to read your comments or questions.
Please direct all editorial inquiries to:
Editor Karen Bagwell
E-mail: [email protected]
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The School Discipline Advisor
Evaluation
How do discipline programs you are
considering measure up?
The New Jersey Coalition for Bullying Awareness and Prevention developed basic criteria to help discipline administrators select comprehensive programs. Use the checklist below, which is based on these criteria, to rate programs
that you are considering. If you answer no to a question, you may need to put more thought into your program.
Visit the NJ Coalition at www.njbullying.org/. n
Program evaluation criteria checklist
Yes
Does the discipline program:
No
Include a framework based on empirical research and a clear and sensible theory?
Involve the entire school community, not just one facet?
Address the role adults may play in negative childhood behavior. For example, does it address adult modeling of bullying
or implicit acceptance or explicit endorsement of bullying and inaction or inadequate responses to bullying?
Is it integrated so components work well together and fit an overall framework?
Is it proven long term and have adequate intensity, such as research that demonstrates years, not months, of
schoolwide effort and impact?
Include baseline measurements on the nature and extent of negative behavior in the setting, such as anonymous
self-report bullying surveys or student focus groups and follow-up assessments to determine the effectiveness of
interventions?
Include age appropriate language and materials, such as addressing developmental changes from pre-school
through high school?
Support responding to cultural differences in communities so that it affirms and strengthens cultural, racial, and
linguistic identities?
Include community-based elements? For example, does the plan extend beyond the school and call for partnering
with other community organizations?
Focus on parents, caregivers, and family? For example, does it help families address bullying at home and cultivate
partnerships between schools and families?
Actively support at-risk or targeted students? For example, does it emphasizes inclusion or identify and support
students’ individual strengths and interests?
Yes
No
Ask whether a bullying intervention program:
Fosters a whole-school approach, with collaboration among administrators, counseling staff, teachers, coaches,
and support staff and parents, community members and students.
Nurtures a comprehensive approach, with interventions at schoolwide, classroom and individual levels.
Emphasizes training for all staff on identifying, reporting, confronting and imposing consequences for bullying
behaviors.
Empowers bystanders to withhold support or actively dissuade bullying behavior.
Includes measures, such as character education, responsive school/classroom, and collaborative learning, to
improve school climate and communication by all members of the school community.
Addresses various forms of bullying such as physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying.
Covers sexual harassment, bullying based on race, culture, gender-identity, disability and other forms of biasbased bullying.
Emphasizes measuring bullying in the school or setting, and recommends specific measures, such as surveys
or focus groups.
Emphasizes specific suggestions for rules and consequences for bullying, such as a set of graduated negative and
positive sanctions, as well as ensuring that such sanctions are fairly and consistently enforced.
Encourages staff and students to proactively report incidents of bullying.
Prevents incidents by addressing conditions that lead to bullying, such as inadequate support for potential targets
and clique and gang activity.
Emphasizes the importance of administrative approval, identifies clear leadership and support for anti-bullying work.
Includes training/materials specifically for parents, caregivers and families.
Presents information to address behavior mentioned in state law related to discipline issues such as bullying,
hazing, harassment, and discrimination. Does the program support mandates for compliance with state law and
identify violations?
© 2011 LRP Publications - Reproduction Prohibited
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Vol. 13, Iss. 5
Policy
The School Discipline Advisor
Avoid missteps that complicate suspending, expelling students
While some misconduct may be severe
enough to warrant suspension or expulsion, districts must be in a position to defend such recommendations. Districts that
train staff to avoid discipline missteps will
be more apt to reduce litigation and see
discipline recommendations upheld if a
case goes to court, according to California
attorney Kinna Crocker.
Initially, officials should “establish clear written
policy and provide guidance regarding the discipline
process,” Crocker said. Crocker also emphasized that
it is important to train disciplinary staff regarding the
ins and outs of the student discipline process.
Crocker suggests that districts train disciplinary
administrators to avoid the following basic disciplinary missteps:
• Failing to follow district policy. Officials who
work with student discipline must be familiar enough
with district policy to follow regulations that outline the
discipline process based on the state’s education code
and related regulations. For example, policy should detail the steps involved in a local discipline hearing. Ask
discipline officials to use district policy as a checklist
to avoid missing a step in the discipline process, such
as providing a student appropriate notice of the misconduct or determining whether misbehavior is within
the district’s authority to discipline.
• Failing to establish jurisdiction. The district must
first establish whether a superintendent or principal
has jurisdiction to discipline a student. “In this new
electronic age, it has become more difficult to establish
whether misconduct is connected enough to a school
or to show that it interrupted school activity,” Crocker
said. For example, student misbehavior on a computer
off-campus may still impact students at school. “When
misconduct occurs off school grounds or at a student’s
home, and dependent upon the impact that misconduct has upon school, a district’s jurisdiction over the
discipline of such misconduct can be affected,” Crocker
said. A district must be able to establish a nexus with
school activity or attendance and show how the offcampus behavior is a suspendable or expellable offense
sufficient to justify the district’s jurisdiction to discipline
a student, Crocker noted.
Generally, California schools can establish jurisdiction for discipline for misbehavior that originates on or
off campus during school hours if the appropriate nexus
is established. An act is related to a school activity or
attendance if the act is committed during a lunch period
July 2011
or when a student is goKey points
ing to and from school
or to and from a school
• Train principals, supersponsored activity. Of
intendents on ins and outs of
course, districts can
discipline process.
establish jurisdiction to
• Avoid missteps that can
discipline when misconcomplicate suspensions,
duct occurs on campus,
expulsions.
Crocker said.
• Be prepared to defend
• Failing to docudisciplinary recommendament discipline altertions in court. n
natives. Be prepared to
show that the district
tried other means of correction repeatedly that failed
to improve the student’s conduct. If a court is to
consider whether to uphold a district’s suspension
or expulsion, the district must show that it gave the
student chances to improve. This is the case in all
but a few exceptions of especially egregious behavior,
such as waving a knife at another student. Districts
should be reminded that they may also recommend
methods such as the use of positive behavioral supports, counseling, anger management, or community
service in lieu of suspension. Show that the school
has provided the student opportunities to change his
misbehavior and stay in school. Generally, a district
may suspend a student for a first offense only if a
principal or superintendent recommends that the
student’s presence at school threatens to disrupt
the educational process, the student is a danger to
others, or for certain specific offenses.
• Failing to establish adequate grounds for
discipline. A district must prove that the student
committed an offense severe enough to warrant suspension or expulsion. Generally, this includes when
a student possessed, sold, or furnished a weapon,
or caused or attempted to cause physical injury.
Suspendable and expellable offenses may include
possession, sale, or use of a controlled substance . A
student may be suspended or expelled for attempted
robbery, extortion, or for an attempt to damage or steal
school property. A district may suspend or expel a
student who committed an obscene act or attempted
or committed sexual assault or battery. A district may
recommend suspension or expulsion if a student
disrupted school activities, defied school authority,
or harasses a student witness, or who engaged in
bullying, including cyberbullying. To determine what
offenses may require mandatory as opposed to discretionary expulsion, consult district policy.
Visit Kinna Crocker at Lozano-Smith Attorneys at Law
at www.lozanosmith.com . n
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The School Discipline Advisor
Dropout Prevention
Nontraditional schools turn at-risk students into graduates
Districts can speed at-risk kids to graduation by planning special incentives to
help students overcome barriers that they
face in regular schools.
“These are not alternative schools; they are
nontraditional academies designed especially for
students who are at least age 14, two or more years
behind grade level, and not on target to graduate
on time,” said Ron Pope, coordinator of gang and
truancy prevention, Memphis (Tenn.) City Schools.
Four academies in different locations have similar
goals, he said.
MCS assists students districtwide, but the school
day differs at prep academies, said Gerald Darling,
MCS chief of safety, security and emergency management.
Darling and Pope described characteristics of MCS
academies that cut dropout rates:
• Uniform policy. Academy students wear uniforms to provide daily structure and so officials can
quickly see if an unauthorized person or nonstudent
is on campus.
• Counseling. A mental health team and behavioral specialists help address discipline. If a referral is necessary, the team goes out to an academy.
Teams may conduct weekly assessments to track
what is going on with a particular student to catch
simmering difficulties and schedule talks to head
off problems early.
• Monitoring. For example, behavioral experts
may check in with a student to gauge how he is
feeling upon arriving at school. When someone at
school asks a student about a troubling incident
he may have experienced on the way to school, he
is more apt to confide in staff who can address the
issue other ways than punitively, Darling said
• On-the-spot behavioral interventions. Experts
may help a teacher handle a discipline issue. For
example, a student may have psychological or emotional issues to resolve, such as lingering anger over
a fight in the community the previous night, Pope
said. Experts can work with that student while the
teacher continues instructing the rest of the class.
• Family engagement. Prep academies work
with students’ families so parents are on board with
academy missions and goals and receive practical
help. For example, there may be mental health issues or an abuse issue in the home, or a problem
with utilities being cut off, Darling said. “We try to
address practical issues by collaborating with com© 2011 LRP Publications - Reproduction Prohibited
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munity agencies,” he
Key points
said. There have been
times when “we used
• Regular schools may
community health
not meet the needs of potenagencies to assist a
tial drop outs, truants.
family with house rent
• Aim programming to
if someone is evicted
speed kids past barriers to
or could not pay a
graduating.
water bill,” he said.
• Let students catch up
“Not having food in the
and graduate with peers. n
house can be pretty
detrimental” and interfere with a student’s ability to focus at school,
Darling said.
• Smaller classes. Academy students receive more
attention in smaller classes where instructors have
more time to work individually with a student.
• Extended class day/year. Staying in school
until 5 p.m. helps some academy students stay on
task. This can reduce the time students may go
unsupervised at home, Pope said. A student can opt
to extend a school year 30 days to bring up a grade
or graduate, he said.
• No sequential grade structure. Academy students advance based on mastery of subject matter
rather than attendance for a semester or school
year. Instructors streamline academics so that a
student is eligible to graduate when he completes
his course work.
• Cross-grade instruction. Teachers integrate
instruction by using cross-grade teaching strategies so students who advance more quickly than in
regular grades can catch up.
• Differentiated teaching. For example, some
students may respond better to written instructions
while others are more responsive to auditory learning. Teachers present instruction in ways that suit
a student best.
• Vocational internships. Students combine
work and school or gain credit for learning on the
job so school makes more sense and students are
more employable.
• Service learning. Participation in service
projects help students get on track with making a
positive contribution to the community
• Community support. Businesses and agencies
actively support prep academies. For example, an
academy shared in receiving a $70,000 grant for
service learning from Lions Quest, a local schoolsbased life skills K-12 program.
For more information on MCS prep academies, visit
www.mcsk12.net/prep/. n
Vol. 13, Iss. 5
Classroom Management
The School Discipline Advisor
Teach staff about student refocusing to reduce misbehavior
Due to cultural changes, ordering a
student to merely sit in the corner just
doesn’t have the impact it once did.
“The traditional role of the teacher as an authoritarian is not effective anymore,” said Ken
Croft, national director at the Center for Teacher
Effectiveness in Memphis. “We try to get teachers
to set rules and boundaries, and also give kids a
voice as to what goes on in the classroom.”
Try instead asking that student fill out a form
and explain how he could improve his behavior
while he’s cooling his heels in that corner.
This exercise will help him learn problem-solving skills that he can use to improve his own
behavior next time.
Croft shared the following tips to help administrators train staff to reduce misbehavior:
• Devise refocus forms.
Administrators should phrase questions on
forms differently based on grade level. For example, high school students may be more expressive
than third graders in explaining why misbehavior
is not in their best interest.
• Determine when to use refocus forms.
Train teachers to be selective about the misconduct they choose to correct. Help teachers
“understand the classroom so they’re not sidetracked by minor disruptions such as whispering
and gum chewing,” Croft said.
When misconduct, such as loudly talking out of
turn, interferes with education, teachers should
give students one chance to correct their misbehavior. If a student continues to misbehave after
a first warning, ask him to go to a corner in the
room to fill out a form that asks him to refocus
his actions.
• Provide refocus opportunities.
Ask such a student to refocus on learning,
rather than telling him he’s being punished.
Use this tack in place of authoritarian methods, such as sending a student to the principal’s
office, revoking privileges, or calling parents,
because traditional tactics do little to teach better behavior.
• Use refocus forms to document misconduct.
“If the problem persists, the refocus forms are
good documentation for parent conferences,” Croft
said. “If parents question the teacher about the
student’s behavior, the forms can be presented
in the student’s own handwriting” to reduce misunderstandings.
July 2011
• Refocus class beKey points
havior consistently.
From the first week
• Modern students need
of the school year modern discipline.
ask teachers to start
• Give students a chance
class with a daily to correct misbehavior.
age-appropriate rou• Use refocus forms to
tine. For example, teach refocusing skills. n
students may line up
to go to the library.
Make routines part of a consistent schoolwide
behavior plan.
For example, ask students to use the same
hall pass procedures if they must leave during a
class. Such routines help students feel like part
of a unified school community rather than as
if a teacher singled them out to exercise power
over them.
• Use body language to refocus behavior.
Teachers’ body language communicates positive or negative messages to students during
discipline. Train staff to avoid authoritarian body
language. For example, instead of facing a student
and walking directly toward him, try walking with
your side toward him.
The first time a student disrupts class a teacher
should continue teaching and circulate around
the classroom. Assign the class some work and
approach the disruptive student with a smile,
walking sideways toward him, and then quietly
issue a warning.
• Build student-teacher relationships to
refocus behavior.
Teachers should tell students that they discipline because they care that students succeed,
not just to tell kids what to do. A student who has
a good relationship with a teacher may do better
on a standardized test if he knows this helps his
teacher look effective, Croft said.
Realize that some misconduct stems from problems at home or bullying at school. A student who
has a positive relationship with staff is more apt
to report problems that trigger misbehavior.
• Alter classroom to refocus misbehavior.
Ask teachers to note classroom aesthetics such
as lighting and scents. Consider “enhancing the
room to make it less sterile and more homey,”
Croft said.
For example, incandescent lighting in a reading corner creates a different feel than standard
fluorescent lights.
E-mail Ken Croft at [email protected]. n
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The School Discipline Advisor
Behavior
Researchers to study stress in middle school teachers
A traumatic stress research team will study 200
teachers in 20 Houston Independent School District
middle schools to examine the impact of teacher stress
on student behavior, according to the University of
Houston.
Researchers plan to use the study results to guide
further development of interventions to mitigate teacher
stress and improve teacher effectiveness and student
behavior and learning, UH said.
Little comprehensive study of teachers’ stress exists
to date, UH said. The study, which begins with the new
school year, will focus on seventh-and eighth-grade social studies, science, or math teachers. It will also follow
thousands of students over three years, UH said.
After researching veterans and civilians in war-afflicted populations and job stress for 17 years, researcher
Teresa McIntyre is turning her attention to gauging job
stress for middle school teachers, UH said. McIntyre
serves as primary investigator for a $1.6 million grant
funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S.
Department of Education, titled Using Longitudinal
and Momentary Analysis to Study the Impact of Middle
School Teachers’ Stress on Teacher Effectiveness, Student
Behavior and Achievement.
The research team plans to identify predictors and outcomes of job stress in middle school teachers. The team
will focus on middle schools because it is a time when
adolescents experience many developmental changes
that can complicate teacher-student interactions and
learning dynamics, McIntyre said. McIntyre conducted
a pilot study in the Greater Houston area in 2010 that
indicated that at least one third of middle school teachers may be significantly stressed, UH said.
The UH research team will measures teachers’ blood
pressure and heart rate, and record their observations
of instructors in classrooms. Researchers will use the
most current technology, reports UH. This will include
teachers’ self-reporting on a Teacher Stress Diary using
an iPod Touch platform, and teacher effectiveness ratings on an iPad. The team will collect data on students
in classrooms using teacher stress diaries, archival
school records and researchers’ observational ratings,
according to UH.
The study will provide “a more dynamic picture of
how teachers respond to stress in real time,” McIntyre
said. Teachers will be able to report their positive
and negative emotions, how their cognitive functions are affected by stress, and what’s happening
at the moment in terms of social interactions with
students, UH said. Teachers will also report on social
conflicts, demands on the job, time pressures, and
whether they feel they are in control of the class, UH
said. Finally, the study will gather information on
teachers’ effectiveness in instruction and classroom
management, and on their student’s behavior in the
classroom, UH said.
Visit UH at www.uh.edu/class/news/
archive/2011/june/psychology-mcintyre/. n
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Vol. 13, Iss. 5
10 Updates & Resources
Middle school violence
nearly double high school rate
Middle schools reported 40 incidents of violence
per 1,000 students compared with 21 incidents per
1,000 students in both high schools and elementary
schools in 2009-10, a new ED report said. The department recently released its report, Crime, Violence,
Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools.
Among highlights, the report said of schools that
reported at least one:
• Student threat of attack, 46 percent involved
no weapons; 8 percent did.
• Incident involving illegal drugs, 14 percent involved
alcohol; 12 percent involved prescription drugs.
• Gang-related crime, 10 percent were city schools,
5 percent were suburban schools, and 4 percent
were rural schools.
Of schools that reported:
• Daily or weekly bullying, 39 percent were middle
schools compared with 20 percent of both high
schools and elementary schools.
• Students who were disciplined for a weapons
offense not involving a firearm or explosive device,
40 percent were suspended more than five days, 36
percent were suspended less than 5 days or received
detentions, 19 percent were transferred to specialized schools, and 6 percent were removed with no
services for the rest of the school year.
Find the full report at http://nces.ed.gov/
pubs2011/2011320.pdf . n
Teaching respect
reduces playground gossip
Elementary school students who participated in a
three-month anti-bullying program in Seattle schools
showed a 72 percent decrease in malicious gossip,
a recent University of Washington study said.
The study on the Steps To Respect bullying prevention program is published in the winter issue of
School Psychology Review.
Researchers wanted to determine whether the
program would suppress teasing, name-calling, and
rumor-spreading. The study showed that supportive
friends and choosing not to retaliate against malicious gossip curbed further victimization.
After researchers observed gossip in the fall, schools
launched the program in half of the 36 classrooms.
For three months, teachers taught lesson plans that
encouraged empathy, taught assertiveness and emphasized that bullying is not a social norm.
Researchers used a questionnaire to measure
students’ beliefs about fighting back against bullying and having supportive friends.
July 2011
The School Discipline Advisor
Researchers observed students on playgrounds in
the spring and found that children in the program
had 234 fewer instances of gossip per class of 25. This
translates into a 72 percent decrease in gossip among
students who gossiped before being in the program.
Find a review of the study at www.cfchildre.org/program/str/research/ and find more on Steps to Respect
at www.cfchildren.org/programs/str/overview/. n
NM narrowly bans paddling in schools
New Mexico banned spanking in schools by a
House vote of 36-31 and a Senate vote of 22-17,
joining 30 other states that outlaw spanking, the
National Association of School Boards said.
Last July, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04) introduced the Ending Corporal
Punishment in Schools Act to eliminate spanking in schools nationwide, her website said.
More than 220,000 students in 20 states in schools
across the country experience corporal punishment,
according to data from the Education Department’s
Office of Civil Rights. There were 705 incidents of
corporal punishment in New Mexico in 2006, the last
year such statistics were gathered, OCR said. Children
of color and students with disabilities experience such
punishment at disproportionate rates, OCR said.
Studies indicate that corporal punishment in schools
has a negative effect on students, according to OCR. In
New Mexico, two-thirds of the state’s school districts
had previously banned corporal punishment, which
can range from denying a student permission to go
to the bathroom to spanking them. n
Jennings resigns ED post
Kevin Jennings, assistant deputy secretary of the
Education Department’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free
Schools, heads to Boston this July to assume a new
job. He will be president and CEO of the nonprofit
Be the Change after resigning his ED post.
There was no word from ED on a replacement at
press time.
Jennings said in a statement that he’s “incredibly
excited to return to the nonprofit sector” to work on
issues like promoting public service and increasing
economic opportunities. The nonprofit he is heading up was the driving force behind passage of the
Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, Public Law
111-13, which the late Massachusetts Democrat
championed.
President Obama named Jennings to the OSDFS in
2009 and in March Jennings presided over the first
White House Conference on Bullying Prevention.
Jennings, a Harvard graduate, founded the Gay,
Lesbian and Straight Education Network. n
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The School Discipline Advisor
Legal Updates
Immunity protects police from soccer
players’ 4th Amendment claim
Case name: Lopera v. Town of Coventry, 09-2386
(1st Cir. 2011).
Ruling: The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed
the U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island’s opinion
at 109 LRP 57965 holding that the doctrine of qualified
immunity shielded police officers from liability for violating the 4th Amendment rights of a soccer team. Justice
Thompson dissented, expressing his concern that “case
law is treading terribly close to creating ‘an impenetrable
defense for government officials’ and a ‘significant risk
that qualified immunity will always attach.’
What it means: The 1st Circuit follows a two-step
analysis in discerning whether qualified immunity
applies: 1) Do the facts establish a violation of a constitutional right, and 2) if so, was the right was “clearly
established” at the time of the alleged constitutional
violation.
Summary: After a high school soccer game, the away
team boarded their bus. The opposing team accused
them of stealing electronic devices from the locker room.
While the coach discussed the matter with the home
team’s athletic director, four police officers arrived on
the scene and boxed the bus in with their cruisers. The
coach gave his consent for the officers to search the
players; however, the coach later stated he was coerced.
The officers searched the players’ belongings, but the
missing items were not found. The players sued the police
for damages, alleging violations of their constitutional
rights under the Fourth and 14th Amendments. The
police officers asserted the defense of qualified immunity. The District Court ruled for the officers. On appeal,
the players argued that the officers were not entitled to
immunity because they were on notice that their actions violated the players’ constitutional rights. First,
the 1st Circuit pointed out the players failed to identify
an authority that would have made it apparent to all
officers of reasonable competence that the coach could
not give consent. In fact, the Supreme Court in New
Jersey v. T.L.O., 106 LRP 2727, 469 U.S. 325 (1985), did
not eliminate a school official’s in loco parentis power
to consent on behalf of his students. Second, the 1st
Circuit opined that while “there is no dispute that all
officers of reasonable competence would have known
that coercion vitiates consent to a search under the
Fourth Amendment,” here, given the circumstances, a
reasonable officer would not have concluded that the
coach’s “will had been overborne or that his capacity for
self-determination was critically impaired.” The coach
even testified that he considered refusing the search and
telling the officers to get a warrant. Also, by the time
the officers spoke with the coach, they had restrained
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11
and reprimanded the crowd. Finally, the players introduced no evidence that the officers refused to move
their cruisers until the team was searched. Because
the officers did not violate a clearly established right,
qualified immunity applied. n
Lewd nature of cartoon in student rag
justifies cutting it before publication
Case name: R.O. v. Ithaca City Sch. Dist., 09-1651cv (2d Cir. 2011).
Ruling: Affirming a ruling by the U.S. District Court,
Northern District of New York in R.O.v. Ithaca City School
District, 109 LRP 22836 (N.D.N.Y. 03/23/09), the 2d
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that a district did not
violate the First Amendment when it prohibited students
from including a sexually explicit cartoon in the school’s
student newspaper. The court also agreed that the district was within its rights when it barred the students
from distributing an independent student newspaper
on campus that contained the same cartoon.
What it means: Under Bethel School District No. 403
v. Fraser, 103 LRP 22719, 478 U.S. 675 (U.S. 1986),
a school has wide latitude to prohibit lewd, vulgar, or
profane language. That rule may apply whether the
communication at issue is spoken or written.
Summary: A cartoon to be published in a New York
student newspaper showed stick figures involved in
sexual acts and mocked the school’s health education
program. The faculty adviser removed the cartoon before
it went to press. Both the principal and superintendent
affirmed that decision. The school later prohibited the
students from disseminating an independent student
paper on campus which included the cartoon. Five students argued that the district violated their speech rights.
A District Court ruled against them, and the students
appealed. On appeal, the 6th Circuit noted that under
Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser, 103 LRP 22719,
478 U.S. 675 (U.S. 1986), schools have wide discretion to
prohibit speech that is vulgar, lewd, indecent, or plainly
offensive. The cartoon was unquestionably lewd, the
court observed. Accordingly, the district acted properly
in censoring it. Alternatively, the district’s actions were
justified under Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier,
103 LRP 26545, 484 U.S. 260 (U.S. 1988), which permits districts to censor school-sponsored speech if the
censorship is reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns. Despite the students’ arguments to the
contrary, the newspaper was school-sponsored, or at
the very least, bore the imprimatur of the school. The
court pointed out that the name and insignia of the
school appeared on the paper, the district funded it, the
district provided an office inside the high school for its
production, and paid for the equipment there. It also
Vol. 13, Iss. 5
12 Legal Updates
paid a teacher to act as faculty adviser. Furthermore,
the censorship was related to a legitimate pedagogical
concern. At the time the students sought to publish
the cartoon, school officials learned that students were
engaging in risky sexual behavior. The district acted
properly based on its concern that a cartoon making
light of sexual relations and mocking its health education program would undermine its effort to stress to
students the seriousness of sexual relations. Finally,
rejecting the contention that Fraser is limited either to
regulation of school-sponsored speech, or to the spoken
word, the court held that the district was free to prevent
distribution of the independent paper as well. n
State court dismissal bars new claim
arising from pupil’s abuse in van
Case name: Doe v. Jackson Local Schools, 10-3272
(6th Cir. 2011).
Ruling: Affirming a District Court’s ruling at 110
LRP 9575, the 6th Circuit, in an unpublished decision,
held that the mother of a student with an intellectual
disability who was raped on the school bus could not
proceed with a federal discrimination lawsuit against the
district and three bus drivers. An Ohio law prohibiting
relitigation of previously litigated claims, not federal law,
barred the claim, held the 6th Circuit, noting that the
parent had already pursued the case in state court.
What it means: “Claim preclusion” prohibits a
plaintiff from bringing claims that were subject to a
final judicial determination. The fact that the plaintiff
asserts different legal theories doesn’t prevent application of the rule, as long as the case involves the same
parties, and arose out of the same occurrence.
Summary: The mother of a student with an intellectual disability alleged that three drivers permitted
and failed to report that her daughter was raped in a
school van. She initially sued the district and drivers
in state court. The claims were dismissed after a state
appeals court ruled the defendants were immune from
suit. The Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
The parent then sued in federal District Court, alleging
that the defendants’ actions were driven by disability and
race discrimination. The defendants sought dismissal
based on the doctrine of “claim preclusion,” which prevents the relitigation of claims that were already subject
to a final judicial determination. The court noted that
claim preclusion applies if the second action involves
the same parties, raises claims that were or could have
been litigated in the first action, and arises out of the
same occurrence or transaction. In this case, all three
elements were satisfied. The state court’s decision dismissing the case based on the defendants’ immunity
was a final decision, the same parties were involved, and
July 2011
The School Discipline Advisor
although the parent purportedly did not raise the new
claims in her state action, she could have. Moreover,
the claims in the federal action, although clothed in
different legal theories, arose out of the same incidents
— an older student’s repeated attacks on the student
while they rode to school in a school mini-van. The parent now alleged that disability and race played a role
in the defendants’ failure to respond. “Although those
claims were not asserted in her State Court Action, that
Plaintiff relies on different legal theories ‘does not create
multiple transactions and hence multiple claims,’” the
court wrote. n
Failure to link injury to operation
of bus parks negligence suit
Case name: Simon v. Blanco Indep. Sch. Dist., 0310-00122-CV (Tex. Ct. App. 2011).
Ruling: The Texas Court of Appeals affirmed the
decision of the trial court that a school district did not
waive its governmental immunity.
What it means: It is not uncommon for states to allow government entities, which typically enjoy immunity
from negligence suits, to be sued over the operation or
use of a motor-driven vehicle. The exception is narrow,
however, in that it requires a nexus between the injury
and the operation or use of the motor vehicle.
Summary: Fellow passengers assaulted a student
on a school bus. Her guardian sued the district alleging that the driver was negligent in failing to stop the
assault and to seek immediate medical attention for
the student. The district successfully asserted governmental immunity, and the trial court dismissed
the lawsuit. On appeal, the guardian argued that the
district waived its immunity under the Texas Tort
Claims Act because a district’s negligence liability is
limited, and a district can be sued for injury “arises
from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle.”
The guardian contended that the student’s injury
arose from the driver 1) allowing students to stand
in the bus while he was driving, 2) failing to stop or
turn on the inside light or exterior flashers while the
assault was occurring, and 3) continuing on to the
destination rather than seeking immediate medical
care and treatment for the student. The appellate court
explained that when the allegations of negligence are
related to “the direction, control, and supervision of
the students” on the bus, rather than negligent use
of the bus, the suit is barred. It concluded that each
of the plaintiff’s claims related to the driver’s supervisory responsibilities over his passengers, which were
independent of the operation or use of the bus. None
of the guardian’s allegations, held the court, related
to a transportation function. n
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