Ending Harmful Discipline to Create Safer Schools

All students deserve safe and welcoming schools that do not use harmful discipline and school police to punish young people.

To achieve this, schools must be able to invest in the people and programs that build strong campus climates and foster the relationships that keep everyone safe.

Learn more about IDRA’s work to build safe and welcoming schools for all students below.

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Ending the School-to-Prison and School-to-Deportation Pipelines

IDRA works to make sure schools do not push students out of the classroom through school policing and exclusionary discipline, like suspensions, alternative school placements, expulsions and corporal punishment. These approaches do not work. They limit student success, are costly and disproportionately harm Black students, Latino students, students with disabilities and LGBTQ students. Instead of pushing young people out, schools must invest in strategies to pull them in.

Using Effective Strategies to Create Safe and Welcoming Schools for All Students

Safe and welcoming schools are community-oriented, with families, school staff and students taking a leadership role in shaping educational policy and practice. They are well-staffed with trained counselors, social workers, nurses and other critical personnel.

IDRA trains and supports families, teachers, students and district leaders, focusing on research-based strategies and programs like restorative practices, culturally sustaining pedagogy and ethnic studies courses.

Learn more about IDRA’s policy recommendations for Texas.

Resources

Changing Policy

Eliminate Bias and Discrimination Against Black Students – IDRA Public Comment for HB 392, Presented by Dr. Altheria Caldera to the Texas House State Affairs Committee, April 29, 2021

HB 3485 Makes Discipline Data More Accessible to Parents and Families – IDRA Testimony for House Bill 3485, Presented by Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., to the House Public Education Committee, April 13, 2021

Texas Must End Juvenile Curfew Ordinances to Help Break the School-to-prison Pipeline – IDRA Testimony for HB 561, Submitted by Araceli García to the House Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee, April 12, 2021

HB 822 Compromises Equitable Education Opportunities in the Name of School Safety, IDRA Testimony against HB 822, submitted by Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., to the House Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee on March 29, 2021

Breaking the School-to-Prison and School-to-Deportation Pipelines – IDRA Texas Legislative Priority Brief

Protecting Children’s Health and Well-Being – IDRA & Partners Urge U.S. Congress to End Criminalization of Students in School, December 2, 2020

IDRA Endorses House Bill to End Corporal Punishment in Schools – Protecting Our Students in Schools Act of 2020, November 2020

IDRA School Policing letter to school district leaders, June 15, 2020

Article: An Overview of School Policing in the South, February 2020

Joint Testimony by the Educational Justice Coalition: Response to Public Interim Charge 1(f) to the Texas House Public Education Committee, September 30, 2020

Testimony: Implementation Rules for Texas school safety legislation

Testimony: Use Effective Discipline, Not Zero Tolerance

Testimony: Clearly Define the Role of Law Enforcement in Schools – Officers Should Not Be Called on to Handle School Disciplinary Matters

Testimony: African American Studies Course Will Have a Significant and Positive Impact on Students Across Texas, November 13, 2019