Effective Discipline Key to Reducing Student and Teacher Dropout Rates


Last Updated: October 29, 2013
 

This article appeared in the October 2013 Rural Policy Matters.

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September 28th through October 5th marked the National Week of Action Against School Pushout, an event coordinated by the Dignity in Schools Campaign. Events in at least 40 cities and towns attracted thousands of supporters working to end the school-to-prison pipeline and promote positive alternatives for improving school safety and climate, academics, and discipline.

As part of those events, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center released the report, Reducing Student and Teacher Dropout Rates in South Carolina: Effective Discipline for Student Success. The report promotes a research-based approach to school discipline that improves teacher satisfaction as well as academic performance.

South Carolina’s out-of-school suspension rate of 14.78% is one of the nation’s highest. Zero tolerance policies in many districts have not only excluded students from school, but forced many students into the juvenile justice system for minor non-criminal misbehavior. For example, in 2011–12, more than 1,200 students were in juvenile justice courts for minor misbehavior, many of them referred under the state’s “disturbing schools” sanction. Their offenses included such activities as running in hallways and “acting obnoxiously.”

The report explores the implications of ineffective and unfairly administered discipline policies on particular groups of students. For example, students in the state’s juvenile justice school district are three times more likely to be diagnosed with a disability than students in regular schools.

Exclusionary and ineffective discipline has a demonstrated impact on a student’s likelihood of dropping out of school. The report ties the state’s high suspension rate to its very low graduation rate. Only 61.7% students graduated in 2008–09, ranking South Carolina 47th in the nation. The report also notes the relationship between ineffective school discipline approaches and high rates of teacher turnover.

As an alternative to current practices, Reducing Student and Teacher Dropout Rates in South Carolina recommends the implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in all schools. The program has been shown to transform the school environment by teaching, modeling, and rewarding good behavior. Students who misbehave receive reminders and other corrective actions. They may also be required to take action to redress negative outcomes of their behavior. More intensive supports and interventions are provided for students whose difficult behavior limits their academic and social success. The results are dramatic reductions in suspensions, expulsions, and arrests; safer schools; and improved academic outcomes.

The report includes compelling stories of individual students and how the PBIS program has worked in their schools; a list of resources; and action recommendations for parents and community, school staff and administrators, and policymakers.

Reducing Student and Teacher Dropout Rates in South Carolina: Effective Discipline for Student Success was written by Amanda Adler with funding from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Adler is a staff attorney at South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center and a consultant with the Rural Trust.

For more information contact Amanda Adler at amanda.adler@scjustice.org or (803) 779-1113, ext. 108.

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Read more about the Dignity in Schools Campaign and the 2013 National Week of Action Against School Pushout

 

Read more from the October 2013 Rural Policy Matters.