1. C5 – Policies to Promote Equity in School Discipline Presenters: Kent McIntosh & Ambra Green Key Words: Equity, Systems Alignment, Tier 1

2. Maximizing Your Session Participation
When Working In Your Team
Consider 4 questions:
Where are we in our implementation?
What do I hope to learn?
What did I learn?
What will I do with what I learned?

3. Acknowledgements PBIS Center Disproportionality Workgroup (2018-19)
Aaron Barnes
Rhonda Nese
Erin Chaparro
Vicki Nishioka
Bert Eliason
Heidi von Ravensberg
Erik Girvan
Ruthie Payno-Simmons
Steve Goodman
Jennifer Rose
Ambra Green
Therese Sandomierski
Beth Hill
Russ Skiba
Milaney Leverson
Kent Smith
Stephanie Martinez
Keith Smolkowski
Kent McIntosh

4. “That’s me!” How many of you…
Work primarily with students and their families?
Work primarily as school administrators?
Work primarily at the district level?
Work primarily at the state level?
Work in a school implementing PBIS?

5. Overview of Today’s Session
Provide background on the ways by which policy could affect change in disciplinary equity
Addressing Discipline Disparities at the Federal Level
Current Policy Review
Recommendations
Focus on skills/strategies: we in higher Ed are lousy at giving you the tools to manage behavior. Learn on the job.
Handouts:

6. A 5-point Intervention Approach to Enhance Equity in School Discipline
Updated!
There are no silver bullets
“For every complex problem, there is a simple solution that won’t work.” (derived from H.L. Menken)
Honor what you are already doing – we often throw everything at the problem

7. 5-point Intervention Approach
Collect, use, and report disaggregated discipline data
Implement a behavior framework that is preventive, multi-tiered, and culturally responsive
Use engaging academic instruction to reduce the opportunity (achievement) gap
Develop policies with accountability for disciplinary equity
Teach strategies to neutralize implicit bias
Quality academic instruction
Invest in systems that are proactive and flexible to be tailored to values and needs of students and families
As we’ll see
Not discussing this pm – ask me later
Go into detail in this session

8. PBIS Forum Equity Strand
Coaching
PBIS Forum Equity Strand
B5 B6
Collect, use, and report disaggregated discipline data
Implement a behavior framework that is preventive, multi-tiered, and culturally responsive
Use engaging academic instruction to reduce the opportunity (achievement) gap
Develop policies with accountability for disciplinary equity
Teach strategies to neutralize implicit bias
D6 E6 C6 C5 A6
Supporting students who identify as LGBTQ
Family/Student voice A7 D7

9. 4. Implement policies with accountability for equity
Equity Policy Guide

10. A Case Study: Oakland PD (Hunt, 2017)
Persistent racial disparities in police stops

11. A Case Study: Oakland PD (Hunt, 2017)
Patterns in stops by hour of shift

12. A Case Study: Oakland PD (Hunt, 2017)
Consistent across time of day

13. A Case Study: Oakland PD (Hunt, 2017)
Increasing disparities by number of stops

14. Data and Policy
LVPD found high rates of excessive use of force after foot pursuits
Policy change reduced use of force incidents after a foot pursuit by 23%

15. 4. Implement policies with accountability for equity
How could policy work fit in to enhancing equity?
Could highlight a common priority
Could reduce effects of explicit bias
Could enable implementation of other aspects of equity interventions
Could reduce use of discriminatory practices

16. Policy Example: Equitable Mission Statements
The teachers, administrators and staff of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) believe in the equal worth and dignity of all students and are committed to educate all students to their maximum potential.
Ineffective: Anand & Winters, 2008; Lai et al., 2013
Has not worked in LA. What did work was when CA eliminated teachers’ ability to suspend a student without principal approval.

17. Literature Review: Elements of Effective Policies (Canizal Delabra, McIntosh, & Nese, 2015)
Ineffective
Limited Research
Effective
✖ General guidance on equity
- Teacher-student ethnic match (i.e., hiring preferences)
✔ Removal of zero tolerance policies or suspensions for non-violent offenses
✖Including commitment to equity in mission statement
- Clear, objective discipline procedures (e.g., ODR definitions, staff vs. office-managed behavior)
✔ Regular sharing of disproportionality data with managers/administrators and accountability for decisions
✖ One-time cultural sensitivity/diversity trainings
- Adoption of proactive, positive instructional approach with students
✔ Installation of ongoing processes for assessing and addressing inequities (e.g., team charged with taking action and reporting data to administrators)
✖ Zero tolerance policies
- Guidance to consider academic skills in school discipline decisions

18. What does not work in policy
Enacting policies that nobody knows about
Enacting policies that don’t change practice
Policies without accountability for implementation

19. Addressing Discipline Disparities

20. Addressing Discipline Disparities
Civil Rights Data Collection Surveys
Dear Colleagues Letter (2014)

21. Addressing Discipline Disparities
Dear Colleagues Letter (2014)
Remove zero tolerance and exclusionary policies
Multi-tiered behavioral frameworks
Manage discipline equitably
Implementing PBIS
Restorative Practices

22. PBIS and EDPs
But, how many schools/districts changed their policies?

23. Research and Data on Current Policies

24. Systematic Review of District Discipline Policies
Coded 147 policies
Hawaii, NYC, and D.C. coded as 1 policy each
Checklist for Analyzing District Policies for Equity (CADPE)
Adapted from Discipline Disproportionality Policy Guidebook and other policy checklists (Longstreth et al. 2013, Fenning and Bohanon, 2006)
7 Domains Elements and Early Childhood Section
47 Questions

25. 7 Domains

26. Checklist for Analyzing Discipline Policies and Procedures for Equity (CADPPE)

27. Checklist for Analyzing Discipline Policies and Procedures for Equity (CADPPE)

28. Systematic Review
Does the policy provide practices for reinforcing prosocial and expected behaviors?

29. Systematic Review
Is “zero tolerance” (i.e., automatic suspension procedures for certain behaviors) mentioned as a practice/strategy in the district policy?

30. Systematic Review
Is there clear communication that suspension or expulsion is limited to behavior incidents that pose a serious and credible threat to the safety of students and staff?

31. Systematic Review
Does the policy include descriptions of and guidelines for using alternatives to suspension?

32. Systematic Review
Does the policy restrict the use of exclusionary discipline (i.e., ISS, OSS, and expulsion) for non-violent behavior incidents (e.g., suspensions for disrespect)?

33. Systematic Review
Does the policy provide lists of possible instructional responses in place of punitive responses?

34. Misconceptions

36. Research says:
No data demonstrating that OSS or expulsions reduce the rate of student discipline.
High rates of suspension correlate with low academic achievement (Skiba & Rausch, 2006) and have no academic benefits (Fabelo et al., 2011). 
Classrooms are not supportive environments for students identified with challenging behaviors regardless of disability status and may actually promote inappropriate behavior (Moore-Partin et al., 2010).
(Green, Maynard, & Stegenga, 2018)

37. There are misconceptions about the function of suspension.
(Green, Maynard, & Stegenga, 2018)

38. There is no data to support this outcome.
Research says:
There is no data to support this outcome. 
Relatively high rates of disciplinary recidivism among those who are suspended (Gregory, Skiba, & Noguera, 2010) with marginalized students subject to multiple suspensions (Sullivan, Van Norman, & Klingbeil, 2014;OCR, 2014). 
Outcomes of using suspension and EDPs are damaging to the individual student and school climate, resulting in the possibility of negatively impacting all students’ academic and behavioral outcomes (Skiba, Arredondo, & Williams, 2014). 
(Green, Maynard, & Stegenga, 2018)

39. Schools with higher rates of exclusionary discipline are associated with negative student perception of school climate, reduced school bonding and engagement, as well as reductions in educational opportunity according to school climate survey data (Flynn, Lissy, Alicea, Tazartes, & McKay, 2016; Skiba et al, 2014; U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, 2014).
(Green, Maynard, & Stegenga, 2018)

40. There are misconceptions about the function of suspension.
(Green, Maynard, & Stegenga, 2018)

41. Research says:
Recognize and understand the many forms of parent engagement and to approach family engagement from a strength-based lens.
Recent research has revealed the following 4 key principles for family engagement including:
1) Engaging families as equal partners in the educational process with shared and meaningful responsibilities and goals,
2) Family engagement must be part of a comprehensive learning plan and system of educational supports,
(Green, Maynard, & Stegenga, 2018)

42. Research says:
3) Family engagement must be founded on a proactive developmental perspective that includes regular involvement to meet the needs of changing contexts and communities, and
4) Supports for family engagement must be embedded into systems and demonstrate components to promote sustainability over time (Barr & Saltmarsh, 2014; Halgunseth, 2009; Weiss et al., 2009). 
(Green, Maynard, & Stegenga, 2018)

43. There are misconceptions about the function of suspension.
(Green, Maynard, & Stegenga, 2018)

44. (Green, Maynard, & Stegenga, 2018)

45. Recommendations

46. 1. Paradigm Shift

47. 2. Policy Recommendations
pbis.org
School
Equity & PBIS

48. Equity Policy Recommendations
Include a Specific Commitment to Equity
Create mission statements that include equity
Enact hiring preferences for equitable discipline
Install Effective Practices
Require clear, objective school discipline procedures
Support implementation of proactive, positive approaches to discipline
Replace exclusionary practices w/ instructional ones
Create Accountability for Efforts
Create teams and procedures to enhance equity
Share disproportionality data regularly
Build equity outcomes into evaluations

49. Policy Example: Processes with Accountability
The Board directs the Superintendent to develop and update a detailed action plan to address equity, with multiple metrics to assess progress in reducing inequities in school discipline. The action plan shall identify district leads and clear procedures for school staff. The Superintendent will share the plan and report on progress towards these goals to the Board at least twice per year. Lack of progress toward these goals may be considered grounds for dismissal.
Don’t expect policy to fix everything

50. Policy Recommendations Cnt.
Language that is more conversational and less legal to ensure that it is available to everyone.
Define district-wide (or school-wide) expectations.
Define prosocial behaviors.
Define problem behaviors.
Graduated discipline policy.
Separate equity policies ensuring the use of equitable practices.
Instructional approaches (i.e., re-teach expectations, model).
Evidence-based practices (i.e., precorrection, positive specific feedback, reinforcement).

51. Examples of policy statements

52. Non-examples of policy statements
Students suspended from school will receive up to a maximum of 50% credit for all make up work completed for the time they were suspended from school.
Missing an assigned detention or misbehaving during a detention will result in referral to the office for disciplinary action. Subsequent offenses will include in or out-of-school suspension.
Many policies continue to use suspension for truancy and attendance.

53. Questions? Want to chat some more? Join Us:
RDQ 5 - Integrating Equity & PBIS Efforts at the District Level  4:00 PM  -  4:45 PM

54. Interested in joining the work? We are currently seeking…
Applicants for our Special Education PhD Program with tuition and salary as Center Research Assistant
Postdoctoral Scholar affiliated with Center on PBIS
Research Professor affiliated with Center on PBIS (focus on Tier 2/3 systems)
Posting forthcoming
For details,
Applications due January 5th

55. Washington, DC Save the dates, February 20 – 23, 2019 for the…
Pre-Conference Workshops
FEBRUARY 20
Skill-Building Workshops
FEBRUARY 23
Breakout Sessions
FEBRUARY
Networking | Posters | Exhibits
Washington, DC
Grand Hyatt Washington
For more information, visit:
conference.apbs.org

57. Contact Information
Kent McIntosh
Special Education Program
University of Oregon
@_kentmc
Ambra L. Green
Special Education Program
University of Texas at Arlington
@AmbraLGreen
College of Education
University of Texas at Arlington
Support for this work:
NCSER (R324A170034)