How Immigrant Students Are Being Pushed Out of School
Jul 24, 2008

Discussion of the unique barriers immigrant students encounter in school settings that push them out of school and how schools can better respond to the needs of immigrant students and their families.

• Arlen Benjamin-Gomez, Staff Attorney, Advocates for Children of New York
• Len Rieser, Co-Director, Education Law Center, Pennsylvania
• Mark Gonzales, Educator, High School for Recording Arts; Director of Community Partnerships, AIM, California
• Patricia Nix-Hodes, Associate Director of the Law Project, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless

View the invitation for more details

Listen to the July 24 call on How Immigrant Students are Being Pushed Out
Click here

Charter Schools and Push Out: Reflections on the Transformation of Public Education in Post-Katrina New Orleans
Feb 20, 2008

Discussion of the benefits and potential problems posed by charter schools for meeting the needs of at-risk youth, promoting inclusive schools, and encouraging positive behavior in students.

• Tracie Washington, President & CEO, The Louisiana Justice Institute
• Neerav Kingsland, Director of School Investment, New Schools for New Orleans
• Karran Harper Royal, Member of Advisory Board of New Orleans Recovery School District & Parent Active

Listen to the Feb 20 call on Charter Schools and Pushout
Click here for Part 1 and Part 2

How Can We Promote Federal Legislation for Positive Approaches to School Discipline: Discussing the Positive Behavior for Effective Schools Act
Nov 13, 2007

Discussion about legislation to make No Child Left Behind funds available for Positive Behavior Support programs and other efforts to create a positive school climate. Speakers discussed how advocates can promote this and other national policies to reduce exclusionary discipline and pushout.

• John Gardner, Illinois Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) Network
• Russell Skiba, Indiana University School of Education
• Maisie Chin, Community Asset Development Re-defining Education (CADRE)
• Catherine Kim, Racial Justice Program, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Listen to the Nov 13 call on Federal Legislation for Positive Approaches to Discipline
Click here for Part 1 and Part 2

Are Alternative Education Programs Being Used to Warehouse Kids Who Have Been Pushed Out
May 29, 2007

Overview of alternative programs and discussion on the strategies for assessing and improving alternative programs. Following the call, the DSC produced the practical guide – Alternative Schools and Pushout: Research and Advocacy Guide.

• Gisela Alvarez and Shawn Morehead, Advocates for Children of New York
• Dan Losen, Senior Education Law and Policy Associate at The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University
• Dr. Augustina Reyes, Professor, University of Houston
• Dr. Lois A. Weinberg, Professor, California State University
• Jack Wuest, Director, Alternative Schools Network Chicago

Listen to the May 29 call on Alternative School Programs
Click here for Part 1 and Part 2

How Police Presence and School Drug, Gang and Truancy Policies Lead to Pushout
Feb 13, 2007

Discussion about how philosophies of zero tolerance influence school policies beyond student discipline and how the police presence in schools and school drug, gang and truancy policies lead to pushout.

• Brian Lambert, Racial Justice Project Fellow, ACLU of Northern California
• Dr. Augustina Reyes, Professor, University of Houston
• Dr. Rodney Skager, Professor Emeritus, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA
• Liz Sullivan, Education Program Director, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative

Lessons Learned In the Movement Against Zero Tolerance
Sep 26, 2006
Discussion about whether there is a connection between zero tolerance practices and the pushout & dropout crisis. Speakers presented a history of zero tolerance, the connection between discipline and the dropout crisis, how it has been manifested in New York, and attempts at reforming zero tolerance in Texas.

• Bernardine Dohrn, Children & Family Justice Center, Northwestern School of Law
• Dan Losen, Harvard Civil Rights Project
• Hon. Dora F. Olivo, Texas House of Representatives
• Sally Lee, Teachers Unite & New York Collective of Radical Educators

A Paradigm Shift: Reactive Discipline to Proactive Discipline – A Proposal to Transform Discipline in the Los Angeles Unified School District
May 09, 2006

Discussion of a school district’s attempt to create a proactive discipline policy based on positive behavior supports. Some participants subsequently wrote letters of support to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education.

• Rochelle Montgomery, Associate General Counsel, LAUSD
• Hector Madrigal, Director of Pupil Services, LAUSD

Alternatives to Zero Tolerance Policies: Discussions Towards a Model School Discipline Code
Dec 01, 2005
Discussion of two alternative perspectives on school discipline: restorative justice and human rights.

• Nancy Riestenberg, Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning
• Liz Sullivan, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative

IDEA ’04 and School Discipline: Is the use of zero tolerance and school removal appropriate in the discipline of students with special education needs?
Jul 07, 2005
Discussion on the appropriateness of the new law, the legal and practical implications for discipline, and the impact of public comment on the proposed regulations.

• Jose L. Martin, Esq., Richards Lindsay and Martin
• Sherri S. Sobel, Referee, Los Angeles Country Juvenile Court
• Russell Skiba, Ph.D., Indiana University School of Education