Discipline

Learn more about how schools handle student discipline and how disciplinary actions affect students
Students eat breakfast and color in Topaz Stotts' second-grade classroom before school starts at Klatt Elementary School in Anchorage, Aug. 17, 2021. Debate over school funding is dominating the Alaska Legislature as districts face teacher shortages and in some cases multimillion-dollar deficits. Schools have cut programs, increased class sizes or had teachers and administrators take on extra roles. (Emily Mesner/Anchorage Daily News via AP, File)
Students eat breakfast and color before the start of the school day in a second grade classroom at Klatt Elementary School in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 17, 2021. Some districts around the country are turning to behavior tutors and similar staff roles to help address student behavior challenges and support teachers.
Emily Mesner/Anchorage Daily News via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement The School Role Helping Prevent Misbehavior Before It Starts
Experienced teachers can spot signs of trouble in students early in the school day.
Olina Banerji, March 13, 2026
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7 min read
Image of a school hallway with students moving.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management How Assistant Principals Build Stronger School Communities
From middle to high school, assistant principals share what they've done to increase engagement and better student behavior.
Jennifer Vilcarino, March 11, 2026
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7 min read
Seen is the drawing made by Viejo Elementary School first-grader B.B. that was entered into evidence. B.B. gave the drawing to her classmate, M.C., who is African American. M.C. thanked B.B.
Pictured is a drawing by a 1st grader in California and given to a Black classmate that is at the center of a First Amendment legal challenge over the student's alleged punishment.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Law & Courts Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit Over 1st Grader’s Black Lives Matter Drawing
A court revived a 1st grader 's claim she was punished for giving a drawing to a Black classmate.
Mark Walsh, March 11, 2026
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4 min read
Students on their way to class at the Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School in Newark, Delaware on Wednesday February 18, 2026.
Students make their way to class at the Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School in Newark, Delaware on February 18, 2026. The school's assistant principal, Rasheem Hollis, plays a key role in brokering resolutions when parents and teachers disagree about student discipline.
Demetrius Freeman for Education Week
Families & the Community Teachers Say Behavior Problems Aren't Just About Students. It’s the Parents
Parents are the third rail of the discipline conversation. Teachers say they need backup from their school leaders.
Olina Banerji, March 4, 2026
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10 min read
artistic collage of teacher under pressure
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
Teaching Profession Teacher Morale in 2026: Five Takeaways
See five highlights from EdWeek's annual, national survey of U.S. teachers.
Holly Kurtz & Maya Riser-Kositsky, March 4, 2026
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1 min read
Image of students in isolation in artistic manner with red evocative color and shadows.
Laura Baker/Education Week & Getty
Special Education Investigation Finds 'Shocking Overuse' of Seclusion and Restraint in This District
Restraint and seclusion should not be used in routine school discipline, the Justice Department says.
Evie Blad, February 24, 2026
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5 min read
Image of a student sitting outside of a doorway.
DigitalVision
School Climate & Safety Informal Classroom Discipline Is Hard to Track, Raising Big Equity Concerns
Without adequate support, teachers might resort to these tactics to circumvent prohibitions on suspensions.
Evie Blad, January 23, 2026
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5 min read
Photo of stone columns.
E+
Law & Courts Federal Appeals Court Upholds 8th Grader's Expulsion Over Gun Comments in Class
Shortly after a nearby mass school shooting, a student allegedly discussed bringing a gun to school.
Mark Walsh, December 22, 2025
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3 min read
Illustration of the arm of Statue of Liberty with various speech bubbles coming out of the top of her torch
DigitalVision Vectors
Law & Courts Court Rejects Discipline of Student Whose Post Mocked George Floyd's Death
An appeals court ruled that a student's off-campus social media post is constitutionally protected.
Mark Walsh, October 31, 2025
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4 min read
Student Keiran George uses her cellphone as she steps outside the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts High School in downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 2024.
Student Keiran George uses her cellphone as she steps outside the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts High School in downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 2024. California last year approved limits on the use of the devices in schools.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
Ed-Tech Policy Do School Cellphone Bans Work? What Early Findings Tell Us
A pair of research projects look at the impact on discipline and academic achievement.
Arianna Prothero, October 24, 2025
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6 min read
Cropped photo of a caucasian elementary school boy standing alone in a hallway holding his books and looking up at someone or something not shown.
Getty
Teaching ADHD Is Punished in Schools. How Teachers Can Flip the Script
These strategies can help manage the behavior of students with ADHD more effectively.
Elizabeth Heubeck, October 2, 2025
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7 min read
In this Sept. 7, 2018 photo, a student at Grant High School in Portland, Ore., waits for a ride after school. Portland Public Schools relaxed its dress code in 2016 after student complaints that the rules unfairly targeted female students and sexualized their fashion choices.
In this Sept. 7, 2018 photo, a student at Grant High School in Portland, Ore., waits for a ride after school. Portland Public Schools relaxed its dress code in 2016 after student complaints that the rules unfairly targeted female students and sexualized their fashion choices. A new brief has nine recommendations to make dress codes more inclusive in schools.
Gillian Flaccus/AP
Equity & Diversity Q&A Student Dress Codes Can Send the Wrong Message. How to Get Them Right
Recommendations include a climate survey for students and reevaluating subjective language in dress code policies.
Jennifer Vilcarino, August 1, 2025
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6 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Profession Opinion 'The Worst Rule I Ever Had to Live With ...': The Policies Teachers Hate
Sometimes, teachers are baffled by the directives coming their way.
Larry Ferlazzo, July 31, 2025
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9 min read
President Donald Trump signs an executive order regarding education in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon watch.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order regarding education in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon watch.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Trump to Schools: Banish 'Equity Ideology' in Discipline
Trump’s latest action continues to take aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
Brooke Schultz & Evie Blad, April 24, 2025
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8 min read
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