The Dignity in Schools Campaign is developing a Model School Code to present a set of recommended policies to schools, districts and legislators to help end school pushout and protect the human right to education, dignity, participation and freedom from discrimination.  It includes recommended policies on quality education, parent, youth and educator participation in decision-making, school discipline policies, PBIS and restorative justice, data collection and accountability.

The current draft of the Model Code has been developed through our DSC Model Code Working Group and shared at conferences, meetings and community workshops to gather input from students, parents, teachers, school administrators, attorneys and policymakers.  Over the past six months, we have engaged in a community engagement process, holding workshops in 6 states with students, parents and teachers to gather input on the August 2010 draft below.  We are currently in the process of editing the Model Code based on the feedback we have gathered.

If you are interested in reviewing the model code, submitting feedback or having a Model Code Community Engagement session in your community contact liz@nesri.org.

August 2010 DSC Model Code Draft

In August 2010, DSC released a draft of the Model Code that was circulated at the Annual ABA Meeting during the panel "Policies, Policing and Punishment: Legal Strategies to Stop the Criminalization of Youth in Schools." The August 2010 draft was updated based on feedback from a national summit in Chicago in October 2009 where participants were able to review the draft and provide opinions and recommendations.

Summit and Model Code Roundtable October 2009

The Dignity in Schools Campaign co-sponsored the summit, Raising Our Hands: Creating a National Strategy for Children's Right to Education and Counsel, sponsored by the American Bar Association Section of Litigation Children's Rights Litigation Committee.

For the education track of the conference, summit participants and the DSC worked on a draft model school code that applies human rights standards to promote a human right to a high quality education and dignity in U.S. public schools. As part of the summit, DSC also sponsored the Roundtable Socratic Dialogue - The School to Prison Pipeline: Is it a Human Rights Violation?

Read an Article from Chicago Catalyst on the Model Code Project and Dialogue
"Model discipline code would limit suspensions to keep more kids in school," Chicago Catalyst, November 16, 2009

Watch Video of October 23 Roundtable Dialogue
The School to Prison Pipeline: Is it a Human Rights Violation?
Watch the dialogue featuring speakers from around the country, including:

• Adilka Pimentel - Youth Organizer, Make the Road New York
• Representative Dora Olivo - District 27 Texas House of Representatives
• Judge Brian Huff - Circuit Court Judge, Family Court of Jefferson County, Alabama
• Marcella Diana, Ed.D. - Educator, National Education Association
• Chandra Bhatnagar - Staff Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union Human Rights Project

Read the DSC Press Release from the conference.