Discipline

One of the results of the heightened concern about school safety is increased attention to school discipline as a factor in ensuring safe and orderly schools. Disruptive behavior in schools not only poses safety problems when incidents involve weapon possession, violence, or substance use, but also interferes with instructional efforts by teachers and with learning conditions for students. The most common understanding of the term school discipline involves punishment of student misbehavior by removal from the classroom or the school (i.e., office referrals, suspensions, and expulsions). School removal rates have been used as an indicator of safe and orderly school campuses. In the 1999 National Center for Education Statistics report, a high association was found between principal perceptions of discipline problems and school crime statistics. ...