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School Climate
Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place? Disentangling the Intersections of Student Behavior, School Discipline, and School Safety in the Post-COVID Era
Publication Date
May 20, 2025
Authors
Richard O. Welsh, Vanderbilt University; Kathryn James McGraw, Vanderbilt University
Research Areas
School Climate & Student Support; Governance & Public Education; Equity & Civil Rights; School Choice & Vouchers
Publication Type
Policy Brief
Summary
A new policy brief addresses growing concerns about student behavior, educators' perceptions of that behavior, and the management of perceived misbehavior in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. These issues, already urgent before the pandemic, have intensified as schools contend with increased need, trauma, and behavioral challenges.
Review of Suspended Reality: The Impact of Suspension Policy on Student Safety
Publication Date
December 7, 2021
Authors
Will Flanders and Ameillia Wedward; Kathryn E. Wiley, University of Colorado Boulder; Kate Somerville, University of Colorado Boulder
Research Areas
Governance & Public Education; Equity & Civil Rights; School Climate & Student Support
Publication Type
Think Twice
Summary
A recent Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) report suggests a relationship between school suspension rates and some students' perceptions of safety in Milwaukee schools. Its conclusion-which was examined in a new review-claims a causal chain that begins with unpunished misconduct in schools and ends with disruptive classroom environments that harm primarily African American students.
Review of Child Safety Accounts: Protecting Our Children through Parental Freedom
Publication Date
March 31, 2020
Authors
Vicki Alger and Timothy Benson; Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos and Gabriella Garriga of Trinity University
Research Areas
School Climate & Student Support; School Choice & Vouchers
Publication Type
Think Twice
Summary
A recent Heartland Institute report argues for Child Safety Account (CSA) programs that would enable parents to access taxpayer dollars by asserting that their child feels unsafe in school. The CSA money could be used by the parents to transfer the child to another school, be it public, private, magnet, charter, or homeschool.
Investing for “Impact” or Investing for Profit? Social Impact Bonds, Pay for Success, and the Next Wave of Privatization of Social Services
Publication Date
February 4, 2020
Authors
Martin Carnoy, Stanford University; Roxana Marachi, San José State University
Research Areas
Governance & Public Education; School Choice & Vouchers; School Climate & Student Support; School Funding
Publication Type
Policy Brief
Summary
Is there a role for private investors in public social policy? In the past decade, we have seen the rise of new financial structures entering the social services arena, with corresponding legislation now poised to change how social services are delivered and who delivers them. While different programs use different terms—including, for example, Pay for Success or Results-Based Financing—the umbrella term encompassing these new financing models is the "Social Impact Bond" (SIB).
The Starts and Stumbles of Restorative Justice in Education: Where Do We Go from Here?
Publication Date
January 14, 2020
Authors
Anne Gregory, Ph.D., Rutgers University, Katherine R. Evans, Ph.D., Eastern Mennonite University
Research Areas
Assessment & Accountability; Equity & Civil Rights; School Climate & Student Support
Publication Type
Policy Brief
Summary
Schools are implementing Restorative Justice in Education (RJE) initiatives across the United States, often to reduce the use of out-of-school suspension, which is known to increase the risk for dropout and arrest. Many RJE initiatives also aim to strengthen social and emotional competencies, reduce gender and racial disparities in discipline, and increase access to equitable and supportive environments for students from marginalized groups. Yet whether these benefits emerge depends on whether the reforms are well implemented.
Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking - Addressing School Environment and Safety for LGBT Students
Publication Date
May 23, 2013
Authors
William Mathis, University of Colorado-Boulder
Research Areas
School Climate & Student Support
Publication Type
Policy Brief
Summary
Dr. William Mathis, managing director of the National Education Policy Center, summarizes current relevant findings in education policy research. Citing well-settled legal mandates, the brief makes it clear that school district employees must provide a safe and supporting learning environment for all students. The brief highlights a previous legislative brief authored by Stuart Biegel and Sheila James Kuehl, a collaboration between the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) and the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School, with financial support provided by the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.
Safe at School: Addressing the School Environment and LGBT Safety through Policy and Legislation
Publication Date
September 30, 2010
Authors
Stuart Biegel & Sheila James Kuehl
Research Areas
School Climate & Student Support
Publication Type
Policy Brief
Summary
Safe at School: Addressing the School Environment and LGBT Safety through Policy and Legislation, presents a series of recommendations and model legislation to make public schools safer for LGBT students.
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